High Schools Scan Hearts to Evaluate Student Athletes

February 21, 2008 - High schools and middle schools in Long Branch, NJ, are using a computer-assisted medical device called Cardioscan that analyzes cardiac sounds to evaluate student athletes during preparticipation sports physicals, according to Zargis Medical Corp., a spin-off from Siemens Corporate Research and a majority-owned subsidiary of Speedus Corp. When murmurs are detected by Cardioscan, they are graphically displayed according to their intensity, timing and location. Cardioscan indicates whether a suspected murmur meets the characteristics for classification as Class I murmur according to the ACC/AHA Recommendations for Echocardiography in Asymptomatic Patients With Cardiac Murmurs1. The Cardioscan evaluation is being undertaken in conjunction with The Children's Hospital at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, which provides school physicians for the district. The school nurses for the district have been actively administering Cardioscan to athletes and the results are being interpreted by physicians. Following the conclusion of the program, which will involve nearly 800 students over the next 12 months, the Center's Director of Pediatric Inpatient Services, Richard DeGroote, M.D., and Dr. Rhea Salonga, will interpret the findings and intend to submit the results for publication. According to Dr. DeGroote, "There is clearly a need for a cost-effective screening method which could be an adjunct to the preparticipation sports physical exam in the early identification of certain potentially lethal cardiovascular abnormalities in young athletes. Although rare, the death of a young athlete from a previously undetected cardiovascular abnormality is a tragedy that impacts an entire community." For more information: www.zargis.com, www.speedus.com