Boryung and Sky Labs have formalized a partnership through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at assessing wearable blood pressure monitoring devices in space. This collaboration focuses on creating and testing systems to track astronauts’ vital signs, alongside joint efforts on a space-focused medical data platform.
Sky Labs’ wearable devices, including their ring-shaped blood pressure monitors, will undergo trials in simulated space conditions, followed by real-space settings facilitated by Boryung. Boryung will supply customized testing environments for specific research initiatives and will continue joint studies via its Humans In Space (HIS) program.
Both entities will also investigate integrating medical data from HIS with Sky Labs’ AI-driven data platform. Preliminary tests have already been conducted in near-weightless conditions, featuring blood pressure measurements using Sky Labs’ cuffless ring monitor during parabolic flights. These experiments, achieving conditions of zero to 0.1 g, involved collaboration with researchers from the University of Cambridge and the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS). The partnership seeks to advance this research by validating it in a genuine space environment.
Boryung has been broadening its space life sciences initiatives through investments in U.S.-based firms Axiom Space and Intuitive Machines, as well as the creation of BRAX Space, a joint venture with Axiom Space. Additionally, Boryung recently entered into an agreement with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to identify research collaborators and potential users for its upcoming space life sciences infrastructure.
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According to Lim Dong-joo, who leads Boryung’s strategic business division, this alliance with Sky Labs may set a precedent for Korean healthcare firms to engage in research utilizing space facilities. Microgravity induces a shift of bodily fluids toward the upper body, impacting cardiovascular health. Continuous monitoring of blood pressure and other vital signs could enhance astronaut health management and potentially advance cardiovascular research on Earth.
Lim Dong-joo stated, “Until now, we have been investing in space life sciences infrastructure and building an ecosystem. We are now moving toward becoming a global space life sciences infrastructure company.”
Sky Labs CEO Lee Byung-hwan expressed the company’s intention to expand upon its initial research by testing the technology in a real space setting. “We will strengthen our medical data production platform so that biological data collected in space can also contribute to cardiovascular research and health management on Earth,” Lee remarked.