Does Cardiac Illness Potentially Be Detected By Jellyfish?

Caltech scientists have developed novel ocean vessel propulsion technologies and methods for the detection of heart disease, inspired by the energy-efficient mobility of jellyfish.

According to Interesting Engineering, researchers looked at how well jellyfish flowed through the water and discovered parallels between their movements and the dynamics of blood flow in the human heart.

This could contribute to the development of diagnostic systems by improving the recognition and understanding of cardiac disease.

In an effort to turn jellyfish into deep-sea scientists, Dabiri tried to give them electronics. They let the jellyfish swim for a few days at least because they are only somewhat heavier. For the experiment, these jellyfish were originally placed in a six-foot-tall apparatus. Later, they were transferred to a bigger, twenty-foot-tall container with controlled water flow.

“We found a space in the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory building that looks like an elevator shaft where they forgot to put in the elevator,” stated Dabiri.

“The idea became this big, 40,000-pound structure that would sit suspended over a region where the researchers can go underneath to gather specific measurements,” he added.

Two motors were also included in the 3,600-gallon tank of jellyfish, which was used to regulate the upwelling and downwelling flow of water, which was utilized to simulate ocean conditions.

“I remember when we first filled up the tank, there actually was a moment when we started to hear these cracking sounds,” Dabiri added.