Astrophysicist Turned Entrepreneur — The Mind Behind MindMics

In the vast universe of career transitions, few are as intriguing as Dr. Anna Barnacka’s journey from astrophysicist to digital health innovator. Her story is a testament to how personal challenges can spark groundbreaking ideas and lead to unexpected career pivots.

A Decade of Stargazing and Burnout

Dr. Barnacka’s journey began in the realm of astrophysics, where her passion for understanding the universe drove her to work tirelessly for over a decade. Her adventures took her across the globe, from high-tech observatories to the remote deserts of Namibia. However, the intensity of her work began to take its toll.

“If you work extremely hard for at least a decade, you will start facing burnout,” Dr. Barnacka reflects. “Your body will start telling you, okay, either you slow down or the body will stop you.”

The Birth of an Idea: Monitoring Health Like Black Holes

As she grappled with the negative impacts of stress on her health, Dr. Barnacka had an epiphany. She mused, “Since I can monitor black holes from the distant part of the universe, monitoring my health and making better decisions should be much easier.”

This realization sparked a quest for tools that could help her manage stress and understand her health better. Dr. Barnacka envisioned a dashboard that could provide evidence-based insights into what was beneficial or detrimental to her well-being.

From Telescopes to Wearables: A Natural Transition

Dr. Barnacka’s search for accurate health monitoring tools led her to an unexpected conclusion: the existing wearable devices on the market weren’t up to the task. Drawing on her experience with building telescopes, she decided to apply her knowledge to create something more precise.

“Since I have all of that knowledge about how to build the telescopes, why not use it to actually figure out something more accurate?” she explains.

The Power of Raw Data and Interdisciplinary Learning

Dr. Barnacka’s approach to this new challenge was quintessentially scientific. She dove into the raw data from existing devices, applying the same rigorous analysis she used in her astrophysics research. Her evenings were spent studying physiology and neuroscience, bridging the gap between her expertise in black holes and her newfound interest in human biology.

“During the day, I focused on studying black holes. And then in the evenings, I was diving into physiology and neuroscience and how all of the medical devices work,” she shares.

The Ear: A Window to Our Health

In her quest for better health monitoring, Dr. Barnacka’s attention was drawn to an unexpected area: the ear. She recognized its potential as a data collection point due to its proximity to both the brain and the heart, as well as the widespread use of earbuds in daily life.

“It’s so close to the brain, so close to the heart, and we all put in earbuds, so the behavior was already there,” Dr. Barnacka explains. “It’s the best place to collect the information.”

The Birth of DeepMikes: A Six-Year Odyssey

Six years ago, Dr. Anna Barnacka embarked on a new adventure with the creation of DeepMikes. This journey, while fascinating, was not without its challenges. As Dr. Barnacka humorously notes, “It’s not the journey that you take if you want to lower your stress.”

The foundation of DeepMikes’ innovation lies in the discovery of incredible signals that could be picked up through the ear using earbuds. This revelation opened up a world of possibilities for accurate health measurements in a convenient, widely used form factor.

“We thought, okay, this is interesting and something that we could build the company on because there is so much value if we could provide very accurate measurements,” Dr. Barnacka explains.

However, venturing into the realm of infrasound presented unique challenges. Dr. Barnacka likens it to entering a black hole, as there were no established specifications for measuring infrasound in this context.

Building the Infrasonic Lab: Pioneering New Standards

To overcome these challenges, DeepMikes built its infrasonic lab. This allowed them to conduct extensive testing and experimentation to understand the intricacies of infrasound measurement and earbud design.

“We had to create our field and the standards, how to measure that, how to design those earbuds, how to evaluate them at those frequencies,” Dr. Barnacka recalls.

This pioneering work led to the development of reliable earbuds capable of capturing infrasound while maintaining functionality for music listening and even incorporating noise cancellation.

Clinical Validation and Groundbreaking Discoveries

As the technology matured, DeepMikes began conducting clinical studies to explore the potential applications of their innovation. One of their first studies focused on atrial fibrillation, a condition that poses significant challenges for healthcare systems and patients alike.

“We show that with MindMax earbuds, we can detect atrial fibrillation and monitor it when you listen to music, when you’re just using the earbuds, and it can do it continuously with the accuracy of gold standard ECG,” Dr. Barnacka proudly states.

This groundbreaking work was published in Nature Digital Medicine and led to a granted patent application.

Pushing the Boundaries: From Earbuds to Aorta

Not content with detecting arrhythmias, DeepMikes set their sights on more ambitious goals. They partnered with Scripps Health to investigate whether their technology could provide insights into heart valve function and muscle health – information typically obtained through highly invasive procedures.

Their research led to an astonishing discovery: the signals captured by their earbuds appeared to originate from the aorta itself. Dr. Barnacka explains the significance: “Having a tool that is a regular earbud that we put to listen to music could do something that today is done only with very invasive procedures. And heart failure is the number one killer globally. So putting it into something that almost everyone is using, that can really change the way how we think about our heart health.”

The MindMics Heart Health System: From Lab to Market

Today, DeepMikes has transformed its research into a commercial product. The MindMics Heart Health System is now available as a limited edition evaluation unit, with plans to partner with other earbud manufacturers to integrate this technology more widely.

“Our goal is to enable this technology into as many earbuds as possible and give people accurate algorithms that they can use in their products to give people that benefit of information about how their heart is doing, how stressed out they are,” Dr. Barnacka explains.

Beyond Heart Health: Mastering Physiological Responses

The MindMics system goes beyond cardiovascular monitoring. It includes a dashboard that provides real-time information about a user’s physiological state, helping them understand their stress levels and even distinguish between “fight or flight” and “rest and digest” states.

Dr. Barnacka emphasizes the personal impact of this technology: “The reason why I didn’t burn out after six years of building a startup is that our product works. Data do not lie, and we lie to ourselves very often, but the data and our heart do not lie.”

This journey has not only resulted in groundbreaking technology but has also provided Dr. Barnacka with profound insights into human physiology: “As an astrophysicist, I knew something about black holes, but I was really surprised how little we learn at school about our own body and how it works, what kind of impact we have on it.”

The Business Model: Empowering the Earbud Industry

DeepMikes isn’t aiming to become another earbud brand in an already crowded market. Instead, they’re positioning themselves as a technology enabler for existing and future earbud manufacturers. Dr. Barnacka explains their approach: “We have the technology that is solving B2B. We already have first partnerships with the earbuds and parts manufacturers. So we’re working on that within the supply chain to enable, to make enabling this technology even easier and just part of the package and plug and play.”

Their business model is primarily B2B, offering various integration options:

1. On-device algorithms for basic metrics like heart rate

2. Cloud-based APIs for more complex metrics

3. White-label solutions including a full app for partners wanting a complete package

4. Reference designs for high-end earbuds with built-in technology

This flexible approach allows DeepMikes to cater to a wide range of partners with different needs and capabilities.

Future Developments: Blood Pressure Monitoring

While the current system focuses on stress management and physiological state monitoring, DeepMikes has its sights set on an even more ambitious goal: blood pressure monitoring. Dr. Barnacka shares their vision: “Once we add the blood pressure to the system, this will open for us a further path to revenue generation and bringing you really unique products. Because today our product is solving the user experience is built to help people manage stress, which is also one of the first things that a doctor will tell you when you have any heart-related issues.”

This development could potentially transform DeepMikes’ offering into a comprehensive heart health management tool, opening up new markets and opportunities.

From Academia to Entrepreneurship: Lessons Learned

Dr. Barnacka’s journey from astrophysics to digital health entrepreneurship offers valuable insights for others considering a similar path. She notes several transferable skills from academia:

1. Working in fast-paced environments

2. Collaborating with diverse teams

3. Convincing others to work on your ideas without immediate financial incentives

4. Resilience in the face of failure and rejection

“In science, we just fail all the time. And you just keep going. And there is no such a thing as oh maybe I should stop doing it. No, it’s you do it until you succeed,” Dr. Barnacka reflects.

However, she also highlights key differences, particularly in problem-solving approaches: “That’s the part that we don’t have in academia. That’s something that we don’t learn to resolve problems in academia, because if you have a problem with someone, you just don’t talk to them ever again. And that’s the problem solved. In the startup world, my job as a leader, as a CEO is to solve problems and make sure that everything is working.”

Advice for Digital Health Entrepreneurs

When asked for her top advice for other startup founders in digital health, Dr. Barnacka emphasizes the importance of personal health management: “I would say what I have learned very quickly is how important health is and the value of sleep. Because if you sleep well, if you rest, if you understand physiology, then you know you wake up and you just keep going, you’re solving the problems.”

This advice underscores the importance of practicing what you preach in the health industry. As Dr. Barnacka aptly puts it, “We are in the health business and we are the leaders. And leaders lead by example.”

As DeepMikes continues to innovate and expand its reach in the digital health space, Dr. Anna Barnacka’s journey serves as an inspiring example of how diverse backgrounds and resilience can lead to groundbreaking advancements in unexpected fields.