We at Qardio are proud that our products have impacted the lives of so many different types of people around the world. From the young professional, to the retired dad with a concerned son, to an elite athlete, now even explorers trekking to the South Pole are using Qardio devices to look after their heart health.
We are delighted to have the privilege of supporting the heart health monitoring of a courageous international crew trekking across Antarctica to complete Ernest Shackleton’s 1908 attempt to reach the South Pole. We have supplied the team with our digital health products, QardioArm, wireless blood pressure monitor and QardioCore, wearable ECG monitor. This expedition will mark the first time that ECG vitals and blood pressure were monitored at sub-zero temperatures.
Since late December, the team consisting of an American, one Scot, two Swedes, a Russian and a Swiss Russian have been trekking on skis pulling their equipment and supplies in Pulka Sleds and on January 10th they reached their destination, the South Pole. Hurray and well done!
The Importance of Tracking Heart Health on Trek
Did you know Antarctica is the coldest and windiest continent? At the coldest, it’s been recorded to reach -89° C/-128.2°F. We can’t even imagine how cold that must be – yikes!! Trekking in such frigid temperatures is extremely dangerous, so it was important for the team to have their heart health monitored throughout this journey. With the assistance of Qardio devices, our explorers had a doctor checking up on them every night to ensure their health and safety.
“Each night David visits all our tents to check the vitals we are measuring for our cold studies program. He makes sure that those who were supposed to be wired, were indeed still all wired and he would run some basic health tests (blood pressure, heart rate, etc.) on all of us. These tent gatherings are quite fun. Using the test equipment requires true long-underwear, contortionist effort and agility to expose as little skin to the cold as possible. It was fun to joke about who was going to have the highest and lowest measurement results each day.”
Analysis provided by QardioMD
The measurements taken over the journey will be compiled into a study by the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology. Qardio’s health care platform, QardioMD, will provide the analysis supporting this research on how the human body adjusts to extreme conditions over prolonged periods of exposure. QardioMD is our patient-portal platform that easily allows for remote monitoring, perfect for people in those hard to reach areas such as Antarctica!
One of the team members had to end the trek before they reached their goal because of illness, but they proudly updated the team blog when they reached the US military base in the Southern Pole.
“Shortly after 6PM Chilean time on January 10th, our team reached the Southern Pole! Great work guys! I know it was a ton of effort and is an amazing accomplishment. I wish I could have been there with you — I was certainly with you in spirit. Enjoy some of that Scotch that Lasse trekked with for mile after mile and then I helped transport via plane to The Pole. Enjoy too the birthday celebration that coincides with your South Pole arrival!
Way to go Sasha, David, Mike, Gennady, Lasse, Eli and Devon! We are all proud of your accomplishment!”
We are happy to know the team arrived safely, and that we could support their health monitoring on their way! Learn more about Qardio’s health devices here. Get more information on the crew and their trek here.
