Development and Feasibility Study of a Mobile Health Intervention for Longitudinal Monitoring in Hybrid-Palliated Single-Ventricle Patients: Hybrid Health App for Long-Term Outcomes (HALO)

Grant Application

Laura Seese, MD, MS, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh

Single-ventricle congenital heart disease is the most complex diagnosis in pediatric congenital heart surgery. It requires a series of three heart surgeries to reroute the blood flow and provide the best possible circulation for the child.

The Norwood used to be the only option for the first surgery. But now the hybrid procedure is an option for high-risk, fragile newborns. Infants who undergo the hybrid procedure have two options for the second operation (Stage II) — both of which have a high surgical mortality rate. The goal of this project is to develop an app — the Hybrid Health App for Long-Term Outcomes (HALO) — to help clinicians choose this next surgical step.

Improvements in Action

This project will be used to gather data and identify the strategy, or surgical step, with the greatest survival benefit. Information to be collected includes surgical data (procedures, timing, and outcomes), clinical data (vitals, labs, and follow up), physiologic data (device-linked measures and interstage trends), and patient-reported data (home monitoring, engagement, and quality of life for patients and caregivers).

The HALO app will be developed and tested through a pilot program involving participating families from UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. The aim is to embed HALO into every phase of care to create a continuous, mortality-focused system that prevents attrition, reduces preventable deaths, and standardizes Stage II.

Intended Outcomes

Development of the HALO app will provide the comparative evidence that doctors need. It is expected to save lives by closing surveillance gaps, standardizing care, and identifying the Stage II strategy with the greatest survival benefit.