iRhythm Technologies, maker of the Zio peel-and-stick wearable heart monitor, has launched a patient-facing companion app on iOS, called myZio, as well as a website, called myZio.com. The app and website allow wearers to track additional health data. They don't display data collected by the Zio patch.
These are the first patient-facing data offerings that the company, which commercially launched Zio in 2011, has released. The wearable itself has no connectivity -- it stores the data it collects locally on the device and is downloaded once the wearer mails the device back to the company.
“With the release of the myZIO app, iRhythm is strengthening its leadership among digital healthcare solution providers by enabling better insights to inform clinical decisions,” iRhythm Technologies CEO Kevin King said in a statement. “myZIO is one example of our commitment to putting our patients first. It is also a stepping stone to the creation of arrhythmia patient communities, giving our users a priceless source of education and support. By involving the patient in the clinical decision process, iRhythm is shaping the diagnostic pathway into a more collaborative one and, ultimately, one that dramatically improves patient outcomes.”
The Zio patch is a small wearable sensor, used for multi-day monitoring of arrhythmias in cardiac patients. To date, the patch has been prescribed for nearly 400,000 patients.
Although the myZio app and sites do not collect data from the device, they do allow users to enter their symptoms as they occur while they are wearing the Zio patch. MyZio also allows users to view their symptom history, access Zio patch instructions, and edit their profile.
Last year, the company raised $17 million in a round led by Novo A/S, a Danish life sciences investment firm. iRhythm's total disclosed funding have reached about $85 million, based on SEC filings and company announcements. The company said at the time it would use the funding for marketing, development, and continuing to accrue efficacy data for the technology.
