NASA has adapted its advanced sensing technology—originally developed for space exploration—to address a pressing healthcare need here on Earth: continuous, contactless monitoring of vital signs. In partnership with Advanced TeleSensors, Inc., NASA engineers have developed the Cardi/o Monitor, a device that uses radar-based technology to track heart rate and respiration without requiring physical contact.
NASA uses radio frequency (RF) for a variety of tasks in space, including communications. The Europa Clipper RF panel — the box with the copper wiring near the top — will send data carried by radio waves through the spacecraft between the electronics and eight antennas. Image Credit: NASA
This project reflects a growing shift toward accessible, at-home health monitoring, particularly for people managing chronic conditions or requiring long-term care. By applying decades of aerospace research to healthcare, the Cardi/o Monitor offers a practical solution that blends scientific precision with real-world usability.
Background
The idea of checking your vital signs at home isn’t exactly new. Wearables and smart devices have been around for a while—but many still rely on contact-based sensors that can feel clunky or uncomfortable, especially for long-term use. That’s where NASA stepped in.
At NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a team of engineers started asking: What if we could monitor things like heart rate and breathing without needing to touch the body at all? It’s a question rooted in real need—particularly as the demand for more flexible, at-home health tools has grown in response to global health challenges.
Their approach involves leveraging decades of work in motion detection—technology originally designed to track the tiniest movements in space—and apply it to healthcare. The idea is simple but powerful: the human body produces subtle vibrations with every breath and heartbeat. We might not see or feel them, but they’re there, and they carry critical information about what’s going on inside us. NASA’s goal was to turn that invisible data into a usable tool for everyday health monitoring.
The Current Study
That vision came to life in the form of the Cardi/o Monitor, a device that uses radar-like radio frequency (RF) signals to pick up on those tiny body movements. Think of it as a health sensor that doesn’t need to touch you, it just sits nearby and does its job in the background.
Of course, the tech behind it isn’t simple. One of the biggest challenges was figuring out how to separate useful signals—like the rise and fall of your chest when you breathe—from all the other movements and noise in your environment. To solve this, the NASA team developed smart algorithms that can filter out irrelevant data and zero in on what actually matters: your vital signs.
The monitor works by sending out a radio beam that reflects off a person’s body, capturing heart rate and breathing patterns in real time. No straps, no wires, no hassle. And over the course of five years, the team didn’t just perfect how it works—they also redesigned it to be smaller and more user-friendly. What started as a bulky prototype is now a sleek, compact device that fits easily into daily life.
Results and Discussion
The Cardi/o Monitor, aside from being a cool piece of tech, is already making a real difference in how we think about home health care. It can pick up key indicators like heart rate, breathing, and heart rate variability (which can be linked to things like stress or sleep apnea). What’s more, it stores up to six months of this data securely in the cloud, so doctors can access it remotely whenever needed.
That kind of continuous monitoring can be a game-changer. Instead of relying on occasional check-ups or self-reports, healthcare providers get a steady stream of real-time data. That means they can spot trends earlier, catch warning signs faster, and make more informed decisions—without requiring patients to make constant trips to the clinic.
It’s especially promising for people living with chronic conditions like heart disease or diabetes, where staying on top of small changes can make a big difference. And because the device is non-contact and easy to use, it’s not a big lifestyle adjustment—it just fits in and works in the background.
Conclusion
This project is a great example of something NASA has been doing more and more of: taking the tech that helps astronauts survive in space and turning it into something useful here on Earth. The Cardi/o Monitor gives people a way to manage their health more independently, with less stress and more information at their fingertips.
It also highlights how collaboration across industries (space tech and healthcare, in this case) can lead to smarter, more adaptable solutions for everyday problems. And it opens the door for even more innovation in the growing space of remote and at-home health tools.
At its core, the Cardi/o Monitor is about making health monitoring simpler, smarter, and more accessible. By building on space-tested technology, NASA and its partners have created a device that doesn’t just work—it fits seamlessly into people’s lives.
As healthcare continues to shift toward more proactive, personalized care, tools like this one will likely become part of the new normal. They make it easier for individuals to stay informed and for doctors to stay connected—no wires, no fuss, no extra effort.