Digital health: measuring your pulse on your phone

Dominik grew up in Mainz, Germany. “I studied there as well,” he says. “After my studies, I did a PhD in Maastricht and completed my training as a cardiologist in Homburg, Germany. Then, I spent three years in Australia, where I did a fellowship focusing on arrhythmia treatment. I returned to Maastricht in 2019. Shortly after, the COVID-19 pandemic began. Due to the pandemic, we set up a research line around digital health and remote care. For example, we are working on various apps that we use together with patients, collecting a lot of data and conducting research. My other research line is focused on the treatment of atrial fibrillation, a specific arrhythmia where the heart rate is irregular. I have been very interested in arrhythmias and their treatment since my student days, and I still am.”

Additionally, Dominik works as a professor in Copenhagen. “On average, I spend three weeks per month in Maastricht and one week in Copenhagen. We have an animal laboratory there,” he explains. “Through the collaboration between Maastricht and Copenhagen, we can quickly bring clinical questions to this lab. We can also apply the findings from the animal laboratory directly to the treatment of arrhythmias. I think this is a very unique and effective way of conducting interesting research together.”

Dominik is also involved in Pulse Day, an international awareness campaign about arrhythmias. “Pulse Day was initiated by the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) to explain that arrhythmias are very common,” he explains. “This campaign takes place on 1 March, the first day of the third month, because one in three people worldwide will develop an arrhythmia in their lifetime. We want to show everyone that measuring your pulse is very simple. You can do this by placing your finger on your wrist, but you need to know how to interpret the result. We have another way: an app on your phone, where you can measure your pulse by placing your finger in front of the camera. The result then appears directly on your screen, so you can easily see if the pulse is fast or slow, regular or irregular, and what that means.”

The goal is to collect more than a thousand digital pulses in Maastricht with this app by mid-March. “Everything is anonymous: we can only see how often the app is used, but the information cannot be traced back to specific individuals,” says Dominik. “That is not the purpose of this campaign. The goal is to see if apps like this, which are normally used for patients, can be used more broadly to create awareness among the general public.”

Dominik also wants to explore whether similar apps could be used for other health goals. “If you want to measure your pulse at the general practitioner, it creates a lot of extra work for them: scheduling appointments, hiring more nurses... That is not scalable,” he explains. “An app, however, is scalable. Right now, we focus on the pulse, but perhaps in the future, you could also measure your blood pressure with a phone. We could also see if we can detect certain conditions, such as diabetes, early on. This way, you can offer treatment early and make a significant impact on people’s lives.”

Want to know more about Pulse Day? Visit the website, follow #PulseDay on social media and measure your own digital pulse.

Text: Joëlle van Wissen
Photo: Maastricht UMC+