Cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer on the planet, claiming more than 30 million lives annually. It’s a horrifying statistic. One made even more so when you consider that all too often – especially with heart attacks – treatment could be as simple as taking an aspirin. If only the victim had more time to act.

It’s the exact scenario WearOptimo’s Microwearable sensors are looking to address, using next-generation technology to access biomarkers for the early identification of health conditions such as heart attacks, where time is critical to care and early intervention can save lives.

With such great potential, it’s no surprise the topic was a key focus when WearOptimo founder and CEO Professor Mark Kendall (pictured above) appeared this month on Planet Hope, a podcast series from The Times, presented in partnership with Rolex and its Perpetual Planet Initiative.

In his chat with host Adam Vaughan, Mark drilled down into the potential for the stick-on sensors to be rolled out for cardiac care. You can listen to the full conversation here, but below is an excerpt from Mark.

“In the concept of the cardiac Microwearable, what we see as the first case is when someone’s presenting to a hospital with chest pain.

“So normally what takes place in that setting is all manner of tests are done.

“That takes a considerable period of time before you truly get a read on if someone’s having a heart attack or not.

“So what we envisage is in the hands of the practitioners, they apply our Microwearable sensor and get an immediate read of whether it’s a heart attack or not. That’s step one.

“Step two is to take it out into the ambulance setting where, in that triage process on the way to the hospital, you’re getting a read on that.

“Step three is taking it back to people who are at high risk for heart attacks – quite often, it’s people that have had heart attacks before – for that continuous monitoring.

“And of course there’s subsequent steps beyond that for the broader population. So that’s what we have in mind in terms of the roadmap for that sensor.”

With the cardiac sensor on the horizon, WearOptimo is currently in clinical trials for its hydration Microwearable, which targets the very real – and often underestimated – issue of dehydration. This will have applications across everything from aged care to the military and sport.

The Planet Hope podcast was produced by Anya Pearce and recorded in Brisbane at The Podcast Boss.