FDA approves KardiaBand

[www.reuters.com]

Good news, I think. I do wish, however, that at some point the subscription service isn't required. I realize companies have to recoup development costs, but it'd be nice to be able to purchase a product once without having to effectively "re-buy" it monthly or yearly.

It's nice to see technology disrupting medicine. I hope it continues!

I'm one of the lucky ones who got a free lifetime subscription due to being an early adopter. I think that was less generosity and more that they didn't start out with a subscription system. Anyone who bought it could send an ECG for analysis for a fee. I think it was $20 for a cardiologist interpretation and $5 for a technician. When they went to a subscription system it would have been bait-and-switch for their existing customers, so they gave us all lifetime subscriptions.

Of course, I also lost my first one so I had to pay for it twice.

I'm also an early adopter and thus "grandfathered" in for lifetime subscription for the Kardia app and original AliveCor device. I'm not certain, however, if that would extend to the KardiaBand. Since I'm not in AF any longer (nor plan to be ) I won't be purchasing the watch or the device. If anyone else does, please post your experiences here for the benefit of the rest of us if you don't mind.

I would be really amazed if our subscriptions extend to the band. No way they'll do that.

I'm also no longer in afib and hope not to be. If this lasts through the next 18 months or so, I may sell or donate my subscription. I'm sure they wouldn't approve of that but it's just a user ID and password so they'd have no way of knowing.

Interesting. IIRC, the account was tied to a unique MAC like address associated with the Alive Cor itself. Yet you replaced a lost device, and I’m assuming the account and all of your ECG’s migrated just fine when the new device was activated? I always wondered what would happen with a lost device and our early adopter gratis lifetime accounts.

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AB Page
Interesting. IIRC, the account was tied to a unique MAC like address associated with the Alive Cor itself. Yet you replaced a lost device, and I’m assuming the account and all of your ECG’s migrated just fine when the new device was activated? I always wondered what would happen with a lost device and our early adopter gratis lifetime accounts.

Yup, no problem with a new AliveCor (or new phone either). I think it's only tied to the user credentials. Tying it to devices would be an endless headache for them support-wise.

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wolfpack
[www.reuters.com]

I do wish, however, that at some point the subscription service isn't required.

It's nice to see technology disrupting medicine. I hope it continues!

I have auto-update on on my iPhone, and overnight Kardia pushed an updated version. When I opened the app this morning to take the usual 6 am reading, it had auto-detected my watch and asked if I wanted to use it for their new mRhythm function, that I think is a premium feature. They don't make it clear, but it appears to me if you get a Kardiaband, and have been granted lifetime early adopter status, you won't have to pay the annual fee on top of the price of the band. They do offer free shipping and a 30 day money back guarantee. I won't be getting one. One of the big reasons is the battery drain they acknowledge you will experience if you use it. It also works in a rather convoluted way, via the exercise app. Probably a limitation of Apple's API in watchOS. I'm really pleased with the functionality of the heart apps for the watch that are available.

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Carey
Yup, no problem with a new AliveCor (or new phone either). I think it's only tied to the user credentials. Tying it to devices would be an endless headache for them support-wise.

Good to know! I guess their system for identifying a band is proprietary. By communicating with the host device ultrasonically, there's no reason for it to have a MAC address.