A smartphone heart monitor

Keeping a watch on your heart just got more convenient. People can get medical-grade electrocardiograms (ECGs) using a small device that attaches to the back of a smartphone, then receive monthly analyses of their results and have the reports sent directly to their doctors.

And, depending on approval by the government’s Therapeutic Goods Administration, you will soon be able to get ECGs simply by placing a finger on the band of an Apple Watch. Vic Gundotra, CEO of ALIVECOR, which produces the monitors, says the company is also collaborating with Mayo Clinic in the US to develop an artificial-intelligence system that can predict from an ECG if a patient has too much or too little potassium in the blood and is at risk of sudden death.