Technology & Digital Applications Flashcards

During a telehealth visit for a patient with known systolic heart failure, which remote assessment provides the most clinically actionable information for management decisions?

Answer: Video assessment of bilateral lower extremity edema combined with review of daily weight trend

Visual assessment of edema combined with serial weight data provides objective evidence of volume status changes that directly guide diuretic adjustments.

From a patient safety perspective, the most clinically dangerous cybersecurity vulnerability in modern implantable cardiac devices is the ability to:

Answer: Remotely alter pacing output parameters or deliver inappropriate high-energy shocks

Unauthorized remote alteration of pacing parameters or delivery of shocks represents a direct, life-threatening patient safety risk unique to implantable cardiac devices.

Three-dimensional printing technology derived from cardiac CT or MRI data is MOST commonly applied in clinical cardiology for:

Answer: Creating patient-specific anatomical models for surgical planning in complex congenital heart disease

Patient-specific 3D-printed heart models allow surgeons to rehearse complex repairs, plan device sizing, and educate patients—particularly valuable in congenital heart disease.

Compared to conventional median sternotomy CABG, robotic-assisted totally endoscopic coronary artery bypass grafting (TECAB) primarily offers:

Answer: Reduced wound complications and faster recovery due to smaller thoracic incisions

The primary patient benefit of robotic TECAB is avoidance of sternotomy, resulting in smaller wounds, fewer wound complications, less pain, and faster return to activity.

Augmented reality (AR) overlay technology during transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures is primarily used to:

Answer: Fuse pre-procedural 3D CT anatomy onto live fluoroscopic images to guide device positioning

AR overlays pre-procedural CT-derived 3D aortic anatomy onto live fluoroscopy, providing spatial orientation that improves valve positioning accuracy.

The FDA classifies AI/ML-based Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) primarily based on:

Answer: The intended use and the level of patient risk if the device fails or provides incorrect output

FDA's risk-based framework assigns SaMD to Class I, II, or III based on intended use and the potential harm to patients from incorrect output or device failure.

Among wearable-derived digital health metrics, which has shown the strongest independent association with cardiovascular mortality in large population studies?

Answer: Reduction in heart rate variability (HRV)

Reduced HRV reflects autonomic dysfunction and sympathetic dominance, which are strongly and independently associated with cardiovascular mortality across multiple large cohort studies.