The Cardiovascular Team of the AIT Center for Health and Bioresources presents its innovative pulse wave technology in the new Innovation Corner of the Vienna Museum of Technology. This algorithm, named ‘ARCSolver’ after the aortic arch, which has already been used in two projects on the International Space Station ISS, can analyse the cardiovascular system more accurately than conventional cuff measurements. The ‘smartPWA’ device derived from this also offers promising approaches for lowering blood pressure without medication and improving cardiovascular health.
With its Innovation Corner exhibition format, the Vienna Museum of Technology offers Austrian start-ups and innovative companies a platform for presenting pioneering technologies. Visitors can gain insights into current developments and ideas from a wide range of innovation sectors. The presentations change on a quarterly basis and are organised in cooperation with the Lower Austrian technology financing company tecnet equity and the technology incubator accent.
In the current round, which runs from 3 June to 29 September 2024, the focus is on ten projects from the fields of medical technology and life sciences. Among them is AIT's pulse wave technology, which has already been used in zero gravity on the International Space Station (ISS) and has been successfully used in cardiovascular diagnostics on Earth since 2009.
Understanding the cardiovascular system
The pulse wave technology, developed by the AIT Centre for Health and Bioresources in Lower Austria, uses the Mobil-O-Graph®, an innovative blood pressure measuring device from the German company I.E.M. This technology measures arterial stiffness and enables precise insights into the cardiovascular system with a simple upper arm cuff measurement, i.e. without the otherwise necessary invasive examination with a catheter. The underlying ARC solver algorithm for pulse wave analysis is therefore ideally suited for the investigation of physiological adaptations to microgravity in space by the astronauts themselves.
Martin Bachler, Product Manager for ARCSolver, explains: "Pulse wave analysis offers us a unique opportunity to understand the adaptation of the cardiovascular system to different environmental conditions, such as weightlessness, through simple self-measurements. In this way, this technology helps us to protect the health of astronauts. We are not only pursuing promising approaches to lowering blood pressure without medication for diagnostics, but also for therapy on Earth."
Lowering blood pressure without medication
The findings from pulse wave analysis have led to the development of wearables that can lower blood pressure through targeted exercises without the need for medication. One example of this is the smartPWA project, which has developed a wearable device that can regulate the user's blood pressure naturally through regular monitoring and specific training programmes. This technology not only offers astronauts in space, but also patients on Earth innovative ways to monitor and improve their health. The AIT plans to further develop this technology and make it more widely available as a digital health application in order to sustainably improve the quality of life of many people.
Visit the exhibition at the Vienna Museum of Technology (Technisches Museum Wien) and find out more about this and other exciting innovations in the Innovation Corner. Further information can be found on the website of the Vienna Museum of Technology.