NASA’s Heart Health Tech Helps Patients Manage Heart Failure

NASA’s Heart Health Tech Helps Patients Manage Heart Failure

by Clarence Oxford

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 13, 2024

Ensuring optimal health is critical both on Earth and in space, where unique challenges such as changes in blood pressure and bone density can pose significant risks. Recognizing this, two NASA scientists, Dr. Rainee Simons and Dr. Felix Miranda, began developing technology 20 years ago to monitor astronaut heart health during long space missions. That pioneering technology is now being used on Earth to assist patients with heart failure, with a commercial product set to debut in late 2024.

Dr. Simons and Dr. Miranda, experts in microwave communications and radio frequency technology at NASA’s Glenn Research Center, designed a small, implantable sensor capable of monitoring heart health. Funded by NASA’s Technology Transfer Office, the device transmits health data wirelessly to a handheld receiver and does not require batteries. “You’re able to insert the sensor and bring it up to the heart or the aorta like a stent,” explained Simons, noting that the device can be implanted without major surgery and is easy for patients to use.

After the invention was patented by NASA, Dr. Anthony Nunez, a heart surgeon, and Harry Rowland, a mechanical engineer, licensed the technology. They founded Endotronix, which later became part of Edwards Lifesciences. The company leveraged NASA’s innovation to develop the Cordella Pulmonary Artery (PA) Sensor System, designed to help doctors proactively manage heart failure in patients. The Cordella PA Sensor System enables remote monitoring, which is key to reducing hospital admissions and improving patient outcomes. The device gained premarket approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June 2024 following clinical trials that demonstrated its safety and effectiveness.

Miranda highlighted the broader impact of the technology: “To have the medical community saying we have a device that started from NASA’s intellectual property – and it could help people worldwide to be healthy, to enjoy life, to go about their business – is highly gratifying, and it’s very consistent with NASA’s mission to do work for the benefit of all.”

Related Links

Edwards Lifesciences

Space Medicine Technology and Systems