Dr. Sanjiv M. Narayan is a Southern California cardiologist who has developed innovative atrial fibrillation care modalities that were acquired by Abbott Laboratories. With a strong interest in technologies that make life easier and more convenient, Dr. Sanjiv Narayan follows developments in the wearables sphere. Athletics presents one of the most dynamic areas of growth in the wearables market, as amateur and pro athletes seek to monitor health and enhance their competitive edge. A major trend is in the development of smart fabrics that gather essential performance data without adding weight. Information gathered includes critical aspects of body function, such as exhaustion and stress levels. With Sudden Adult Death Syndrome a rising concern within the professional sports sphere, these technologies promise to identify potential overtraining issues before they reach critical, health-adverse levels. Examples of such so-called preventive health sports technologies include the RFID Zebra player-tracking system, which was introduced throughout the NFL in 2016. In addition, Major League Baseball recently approved a Motus Global compression sleeve used for tracking pitcher’s arm workloads and a Zephyr heart-monitoring strap.
A professor of medicine at Stanford University, Dr. Sanjiv M. Narayan focuses on research and patient care related to heart arrhythmias and serves as director of the Electrophysiology Training Program and co-director of the Electrophysiology Service. Apart from his work at Stanford, Dr. Sanjiv Narayan is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (ACC). Earlier this year, the ACC entered into a partnership with several Chinese hospitals that will see doctors in the central and eastern provinces of the country receive training and education on how to prevent heart disease, as well as how to diagnose and effectively treat heart-related conditions. Most of the information will be delivered in lecture settings and other educational forums. The educational effort is sponsored by the Edwards Lifesciences Foundation’s Every Heartbeat Matters and will target Kunming in Yunnan Province, Wuhan in Hubei Province, and Fuzhou in Fujian Province. Educators also will develop patient-related materials to help raise awareness about heart disease among the general population.
A professor of medicine at Stanford University, Dr. Sanjiv M. Narayan is also the co-founder and co-director of the school’s Arrhythmia Center, which works to develop innovative bioengineered arrhythmia medicine. Outside of his professional life, Dr. Sanjiv Narayan maintains a personal interest in wearable technology like Fitbit. Fitbit, maker of the fitness tracker of the same name, is currently working on a new device that will help track and recognize sleep apnea. Sleep apnea, a disorder that inhibits proper breathing during sleep, affects 18 million Americans.The technology, which Fitbit hopes to have finished by 2018, uses a small light to shine through the wearer’s skin to detect the precise color of the blood, which indicates how well-oxygenated it is. For those undiagnosed with sleep apnea, the technology can help determine if they have the disorder, and if or when they should consult a doctor. For those who have already been diagnosed, the wearable can help evaluate the effectiveness of apnea treatment. Fitbit, already testing prototypes in sleep labs, hopes to enter the medical technology sector to compete with their biggest wearable tech rival, Apple. Provided the medical community accepts the new technology, Fitbit will still have to get approval from the FDA and similar regulatory agencies in other countries.
Dr. Sanjiv M. Narayan serves as a professor of medicine at Stanford University where he conducts research focusing on bioengineering solutions to clinical problems. Following his work as the Director of Electrophysiology at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in San Diego, California, Dr. Sanjiv Narayan developed an innovative therapy called FIRM for people suffering from heart rhythm disorders. In addition, Dr. Narayan has developed an interest in wearable devices that can improve overall health.An innovative solution to cumbersome and invasive glucose monitoring was introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in early 2017. The K’Watch Glucose monitor is a wrist worn tracking device that eliminates the need for finger pricks and expensive test strips. The first of its kind, the K’Watch is a wearable device that syncs the data it gathers with iOS or Android apps.Manufactured by PKVitality, the K’Watch inserts two microneedles into the outer layers of skin to absorb interstitial fluid which gathers around tissue cells. The interstitial fluid sample is then delivered to an internal biosensor called SkinTaste where glucose levels are analyzed. The technology in the K’Watch will help people who suffer from diabetes continually monitor their glucose levels as suggested by their physicians. PKVitality continues to finalize manufacturing details and is hoping to complete the medical certification process within the year, ultimately releasing the K’Watch to the public in 2018.
Licensed to practice cardiology in California and Missouri, Dr. Sanjiv Narayan is the founder of a technology development firm that he sold to Abbott Laboratories. In acquiring the startup, Abbott gained leading-edge atrial fibrillation treatment modalities with the potential to improve care for patients worldwide. Dr. Sanjiv Narayan has a strong interest in diverse areas of medicine, including sleep apnea.A condition related to relaxation of the throat muscles during the night, which is also related to atrial fibrillation, sleep apnea causes airway obstruction and brief halts to breathing. Once the brain becomes aware of danger, it sends out signals that wake up the person, and the throat muscles contract and temporarily resolve the problem. Such interruptions can occur as many as 30 times a night, leading to chronic sleep issues.While little research has been undertaken on sleep apnea and the developing brain, the condition affects approximately 5 percent of children. A recent study pairing University of Chicago and University of California research teams and using brain scan analysis suggests that sleep apnea in children may result in gray matter losses spanning diverse regions of the brain. The next step is described as being one of exploring how these losses may be related to cognitive defects.
Dr. Sanjiv Narayan is the founder of Topera, a medical technology company that was acquired by Abbott Laboratories in 2014. Dr. Sanjiv Narayan has served in several roles at Stanford University, including director of the Atrial Fibrillation Program. He has also continued to maintain membership in the American Heart Association.Through its 2017 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update, the American Heart Association recently released data that shows more Americans are living with heart failure compared to previous years. Over a three-year period from 2011 to 2014, the number of those living with heart failure increased by approximately 800,000 from 5.7 million to 6.5 million, with those figures expected to increase by 46 percent over the next 15 years. One reason experts believe more people are living with heart failure has to do with advancements in medical science. Individuals who survive heart attacks are at an increased risk of heart failure later in life, and increasingly effective treatments allow more people to survive these cardiac events than in previous years. People living to older ages is also a contributing factor.
