Miranda House and DRDO Create an Indigenous Chip to Alert Soldiers of Heart Attacks

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a major boost to India’s healthcare sector, along with the Made in India push in technology, top Delhi college Miranda House, in collaboration with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has developed a wearable chip that can warn soldiers of an impending heart attack. According to the scientists, the breakthrough - known as BioFET, aims to address one of the most important yet overlooked health risks faced by soldiers who are deployed in extreme and high-stress environments, including the desert or high-altitude areas.

How does BioFET work?

BioFET is a portable sensor that helps analyse blood serum to report dangerous fluctuations in important biomarkers and give early alerts to take suitable action. “The device that we have developed is BioFET, which can detect three biomolecules from a blood sample at once,” Professor Monika Tomar, who led the research, was quoted by India Today. According to Dr Tomar, the biomolecules are “directly related to cardiac arrest” and, if above the set levels, indicate a higher risk. Early and timely detection would provide time for rapid evacuation to the nearest hospital, potentially saving lives. Scientists say blood circulation gets severely affected during extremely cold weather, especially in high altitudes, where blood clotting can suddenly create life-threatening situations. A sensor placed in BioFET can help indicate when clotting is reaching dangerous levels. Since it is an on-the-spot testing device, BioFET would give immediate information about heart health without the use of other extensive equipment. It is a chip that is inserted in the glucometer, and the display would show biomarker levels against calibrated safety limits. She also noted technical limits: the sensor works in normal ambient conditions and requires a controlled environment to function reliably, so field teams would need to provide basic ambient conditions for testing.Also read: Why a ‘Normal’ Angiogram Can Miss a Silent, Dangerous Heart Attack

Why is heart health a concern among troops?

Service soldiers are often posted and operate in harsh climatic conditions, which include sub-zero or extremely high temperatures, low oxygen levels, and prolonged physical and mental stress. According to various studies, military personnel, particularly in the Army, can have higher rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors like high blood pressure and smoking, compared to the general civilian population. There has also been a significant increase in the risk of sudden cardiac events, even in young and physically fit personnel. In recent years, cardiac arrests have emerged as a leading non-combat cause of death among armed forces personnel, prompting the need for real-time health monitoring solutions. Cardiologists say many heart attacks are not sudden or unpredictable, as the body often sends warning signals hours, days, or sometimes even weeks in advance. The challenge, therefore, has been to identify those signals in real time, especially in remote locations where access to medical facilities is limited. By combining biomedical science with defence research, the Miranda House–DRDO collaboration bridges a critical gap between health monitoring and on-ground action. The chip would undergo further field trials to validate its accuracy and durability under real deployment conditions. Once cleared, it could be integrated into standard soldier gear or wearable health systems used by the armed forces.