Novel wireless technology reduces door-to-intervention time in STEMI
Original article
Dhruva VN et al. (2007) ST-Segment Analysis Using Wireless Technology in Acute Myocardial Infarction (STAT-MI) trial. J Am Coll Cardiol 50: 509–513 PubMed
The US national campaign to reduce door-to-intervention (D2I) times in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) has seen a range of new initiatives introduced. Now, Dhruva and colleagues report initial results from the STAT-MI trial, which used a new wireless system to transmit prehospital electrocardiograms to the emergency department.
Using this fully-automated protocol, electrocardiograms acquired by emergency medical service personnel were converted to a PDF file and printed out. The file was then emailed to on-call cardiologists who, having also been notified by pager, were able to access and analyze the electrocardiogram by use of handheld smartphones.
During the 6-month study period, 20 patients with STEMI were evaluated. The median time between electrocardiography in the field and visualization on a smartphone was 4 min. Compared with control data from the preceding year (n = 29), the mean D2I time during STAT-MI was reduced by 66 min (80.1 
35.4 min vs 145.6 76.9 min; P = 0.001), and the mean door-to-cardiologist notification time was reduced by 76 min (-14.6 12.9 min vs 61.4 76.7 min; P <0.001). The reduction in D2I time was consistent for presentation at different times of day.
This new technology seems to meet the ACC target of reducing D2I times to less than 90 min and could prove beneficial in the treatment of STEMI.
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Subject areas under which this article appears: Acute coronary syndromes
