Inventor : Ruben Ruiz-Mateos Serrano, Electrical Engineering & Polytecks
Polytecks is a newly-formed spin-out from the University of Cambridge, which participated in the Maxwell Centre’s impulse programme in 2025. Based on work from the founder’s PhD research, Polytecks is focused on improving the measurements used to diagnose and monitor cardiac conditions by both doctors and vets.
The technology is based on the concept of smart textiles. It uses multiple small electrodes embedded in fabric, making it easy to position and to wear over a number of days. The fabrication process has been designed to be scalable and low-cost, and novel machine-learning algorithms are used to interpret the data gathered.
There are multiple uses within the medical cardiac space for this technology, ranging from monitoring of intermittent heart conditions and screening for risk of cardiac arrest, to mapping heart arrhythmias prior to surgery. The initial application relates to valvular heart disease where early diagnosis is restricted by the current approach of using specialised imaging methods such as echocardiography.
Within the veterinary market, dogs and horses are the most relevant animals for better cardiac monitoring and screening, with dogs being more likely to suffer from heart valve disease than people, and horses being at risk of sudden cardiac arrest due to issues in the way that the cells in the heart propagate electric signals.
The challenge for the i-Team is to investigate the multiple opportunities for using this technology for cardiac monitoring in the medical and veterinary markets, looking at which areas have the greatest need for a new technology of this type, and who Polytecks should work with to create a route to market.
Note that a follow-up project to this one will take place in Medical i-Teams in Lent term 2026, and will investigate the potential for non-cardiac applications for this technology.