A “game-changing” new app for monitoring babies with complex congenital heart diseases has been developed by a team of specialists including nurses.
The Congenital Heart Assessment Tool mobile app – known as CHAT2MA – allows parents to track their child’s condition, report early warning signs of deterioration and access immediate help from their cardiac team.
“This application will be a game-changer for our clinicians and our patients”
Tristan Ramcharan
Among the team behind the app are Professor Kerry Gaskin, the UK’s first professor of congenital cardiac nursing, based at Birmingham City University, and Suzie Hutchinson, a former congenital cardiac specialist nurse and current head of services for the charity Little Hearts Matter.
Professor Gaskin said: “Improving care for children with congenital heart disease and their families is my passion, so I’m thrilled to be co-leading the development of this app.
“Parents will submit data from home in real-time rather than waiting for check-ups, allowing cardiac nurse specialists to spot trends and intervene early to prevent deterioration.
“They’ll also have remote access to consultants, via messaging and online appointments.”
She noted that the first year of life for these babies was “critical” but care currently varied across the country.
The CHAT2MA team was therefore hoping to make the app as widely available as possible once it is ready.
The app is undergoing development and testing ahead of launch in 2026-27.
Professor Gaskin and Ms Hutchinson have worked alongside a team of other experts on the development of the app.
These include Dr Chris Bowers, computing lecturer at the University of Worcester; Dr Jo Wray, a health psychologist and researcher based at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust; and Dr Anna Seale and Dr Tristan Ramcharan, cardiologists from Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust.
Dr Ramcharan said: “This application will be a game-changer for our clinicians and our patients.”
