Prominent San Diego cardiologist Eric Topol gave a major address in New Orleans Tuesday extolling the use of a small, portable device for examining people suffering heart distress. Three hours later, he used the device to determine that a woman on a commercial airline flight was experiencing an abnormal heart rhythm.

It was the second time in two years that Topol — one of the nation’s leading advocates of wireless mobile medical equipment — had used such a device to diagnose a patient on a commercial aircraft.

« I’m starting to think that these devices would be well-suited for being carried on planes, » said Topol, chief academic officer at Scripps Health. « It’s a simple way to get information and transmit it. »

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