An invention that exploits the ubiquity of cellular phone networks could soon be saving heart attack victims before they even realize they're sick.

A group of Quebec inventors unveiled the new device, called a "Vital Positioning System," at the 6th Cardiologic Intervention Francophone Convention in Paris Wednesday.

According to its creators, the potentially life-saving VPS is a wireless, portable and automatic cardiac alert system. It uses 12 electrodes on the heart that feed signals to a tiny chip that never stops monitoring for aberrations, and is designed to detect a heart attack long before a person even feels the first symptoms.

"It can detect electrical signals eight to 20 minutes before the actual heart attack," the head of Quebec-based Medical Intelligence of Canada, Dr. Stephane Bergeron, told reporters.

Worn on a belt around the chest, the device then uses cellular telephone technology to automatically phone emergency services with details of the patient's condition and location, Bergeron added.

"So in a sci-fi scenario, the VPS would detect those signs, send a signal to 911, which would call an ambulance that would get you to a hospital before your heart attack."

In a statement, Medical Intelligence president and founder Louis Massicotte said the company is already working to bring the product to market.

"We've already started approaching the cellular phone and alarm system industries in order to quickly designate Canadian distributors," Massicotte said.

The reason the device is being debuted in France, and not Quebec, Bergeron said, is because of the European country's superior cellular phone network.

Coverage extends to 97 per cent of France, he said, compared to only 12 per cent in Quebec.