At the University of Cincinnati, biomedical engineering professor Jason Heikenfeld is working on a groundbreaking health monitoring device that could transform how we track and manage chronic illnesses, according to a WCPO news story.

It’s well accepted that your heart only has so many “ticks” to offer and that as you age, heart health often becomes the limiter in both your quality of life and longevity. While Fitbits and Apple Watches may track a good workout, they’re no replacement for the blood tests a doctor orders when concerned about your aging heart.

Through groundbreaking technology, Heikenfeld is bringing heart monitoring into an entirely new era by enabling people to better "tune in" to their hearts in real-time — helping to protect against physical heart damage.

In the fast-paced world of wearable health technology, few stories are as compelling as that of Heikenfeld and his ambitious startup, Kilele Health. His journey exemplifies a relentless drive for innovation, navigating challenges and harnessing intellectual property to pioneer the future of wearable molecular monitors.

In 2015, Heikenfeld had already cemented his reputation at UC, holding the record for the most licensed patents of any professor in the university's history. His latest work pushed boundaries in the pioneering field of wearable molecular monitoring, especially through the innovative use of sweat analysis.

Heikenfeld envisioned a compact device, roughly the size of a Band-Aid, capable of continuously measuring a range of molecules in the body via tiny sweat samples. This revolutionary concept promised to transform healthcare by enabling real-time monitoring of vital biomarkers, such as cortisol for stress management or medication levels for chronic disease patients. He founded a startup, Eccrine Systems, that raised over $30 million from industry and grew to around 60 employees.

The road to commercialization is rarely a straight path, however. Sweat sensing would prove too challenging, and COVID-19 causing the stock market to crash that spelled the end for Heikenfeld’s initial attempt to revolutionize wearable monitors.

In 2021, Heikenfeld launched a new startup, Kilele Health, adopting a more pragmatic strategy that emphasized scalability and market viability. “The incredible success of continuous glucose monitors for diabetes was undeniable,” Heikenfeld notes. “We did something no one else was doing in the startup world, which was to figure out how to reuse almost that entire glucose monitor device to be able to measure the most important biomolecules beyond glucose.”

This shift in focus allowed Heikenfeld and his team to concentrate on understanding the scientific challenges that had limited glucose monitors to just glucose measurement. They discovered that fragile DNA-based sensors, which can be used for a much broader range of biomolecules, were a significant barrier to success, often failing after just a few hours of testing.

Through intensive research and innovation at both UC and Kilele Health, the team has enhanced the longevity and stability of these sensors, enabling them to function for weeks instead of mere hours. The breakthrough has positioned Kilele Health to offer wearable devices akin to glucose monitors, capable of transmitting vital molecular data to smartphones via Bluetooth.

With early proof of concept from testing, Kilele Health has begun multiweek wearable trials. The new molecular monitors, compact and user-friendly, are aimed at a far larger market than diabetes management. Kilele Health's CEO, Andrew Cothrel, a seasoned entrepreneur with extensive corporate experience in molecular diagnostics, joined forces with Heikenfeld to identify potential applications.

With over $3 million in outside funding, their extensive research led them to focus on cardiometabolic diseases, which present significant health challenges for an aging population.

Cothrel points out, “If you live to the age of 60, you have a 50% chance of developing one or more cardiovascular diseases. As the population ages, we must develop better wearable monitors to help patients and reduce otherwise skyrocketing healthcare costs in the U.S.”

The monitors will measure critical biomarkers such as:

• NT-proBNP for heart function
• Insulin for metabolic regulation
• Inflammatory markers such as IL-6

Many of the monitor’s measures also spill over into important health and wellness applications, such as cortisol, which is the gold-standard biomarker for stress.

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