Investigator:
Anna Barnacka, MindMics Inc.

MassAITC Cohort: Year 1 (Healthy Aging)

Project Accomplishments: The MindMics pilot project explored the use of infrasonic hemodynography (IH) technology embedded in everyday wireless earbuds to monitor cardiovascular health and assess vascular aging. In the first phase, researchers analyzed previously collected data comparing MindMics earbuds with traditional heart monitoring tools like ECG and cardiac catheterization. They developed algorithms to break down heart pressure waveforms and found strong correlations between the earbud data and reference signals, suggesting that the earbuds can reliably detect cardiovascular features linked to arterial stiffness and vascular age. These findings laid the groundwork for more advanced modeling and machine learning applications in future studies. 

In the second phase, a 30-day remote study involving 24 adults aged 40–70 tested whether guided resonance breathing exercises could improve cardiovascular health. Participants used the MindMics earbuds and app daily to perform breathwork and measure blood pressure. Results showed a statistically significant reduction in systolic and pulse pressure—up to 10 mmHg in some individuals—indicating improved vascular function. Most participants reported positive experiences with the technology, including better relaxation, sleep, and awareness of breathing. The study also highlighted areas for product improvement, such as optimizing earbud fit for older users. These promising outcomes support further development of MindMics technology for personalized heart health monitoring and stress management. 

Initial Proposal Abstract: The purpose of the study is data collection for building and validating the algorithms for analytics of vascular aging using Infrasonic Hemodynography with wearable earphones (the MindMics device). MindMics is developing technology to enhance an individual’s quality of life by continuously monitoring the heart rate, stress, blood pressure thereby allowing patients to make better decisions regarding their health as they are experiencing symptoms and becoming aware of them. The MindMics device can perform all the conventional tasks earbuds do (listen to music, etc.), but, in addition, will measure your heart rate, stress, blood pressure. The earbuds capture the sounds made by the various cardiac structures pulsing and moving blood. The sound is caused by the acceleration and deceleration of blood and turbulence developed during rapid blood flow.