A team of Polish physicists and engineers is developing a portable device that could detect worsening heart failure at home before fluid buildup in the lungs leads to severe breathlessness and emergency hospitalisation.
Heart failure occurs when the heart cannot pump blood efficiently enough to meet the body's needs. Patients may experience fatigue, shortness of breath and fluid accumulation in their tissues. Around 64 million people worldwide live with the condition, including approximately 1.2 million in Poland.
As populations age, the problem is becoming increasingly serious. A patient's condition can deteriorate suddenly between medical check-ups, and one of the early signs of worsening heart failure can be increasing fluid retention in the lungs. Initially, this may be difficult to recognise, but when severe breathing problems appear, the patient often requires urgent hospital care.
Current diagnostic methods, including imaging and laboratory tests, are not suitable for continuous monitoring at home. X-rays and CT scans require specialised equipment and involve ionising radiation, ultrasound depends on the experience of the examiner, and blood biomarkers do not always clearly indicate worsening heart failure. There is currently no simple, portable method for quantitatively monitoring changes taking place in the chest.
To address this gap, researchers from five laboratories at the Warsaw University of Technology and the University of Łódź are combining two technologies in a single device: low-power microwave sensing and bioimpedance measurements.
The first method uses very low-power microwaves. Because excess fluid changes the way tissues interact with electromagnetic signals, analysing microwave measurements could reveal changes linked to fluid accumulation in the lungs.
The second method — bioimpedance — measures how the body conducts a weak electrical current, providing additional information about hydration, heart rate and breathing.
The researchers say that combining the two approaches should make the system more reliable. If one measurement is affected by patient movement, electrode placement or environmental interference, the second signal could help distinguish a genuine physiological change from an error.
A special graphene flake screen, being developed at the Warsaw University of Technology, will separate the two measurement channels. Software will then analyse the results and present clear indicators for both patients and doctors.
The Foundation for Polish Science has awarded more than PLN 8.28 million for the three-year project under the TEAM NET FENG programme. The researchers will develop several versions of the prototype, tissue models that mimic the properties of the human body, software and documentation needed for further testing and certification.
The project combines expertise from physicists, electronics specialists, mechatronics engineers and biomedical researchers. The team will draw on microwave technology and helical antennas developed and patented by the University of Łódź, as well as the Warsaw University of Technology's experience in bioimpedance measurements, medical signal analysis, microwave technology and graphene shielding.
The device will not yet be a finished medical product. The researchers must complete further testing, clinical validation and the regulatory approval process before it could be used in routine healthcare.
However, if the technology meets its goals, it could allow doctors to identify worsening heart failure earlier and adjust treatment before symptoms become severe enough to require emergency hospitalisation.
The researchers' goal is to move heart failure monitoring from occasional check-ups to continuous observation in patients' own homes, allowing doctors to intervene before the disease spirals out of control. (PAP)
PAP - Science in Poland
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