BodyMedia Armbands Monitoring Astronauts' Exercise Regimen on International Space Station

PITTSBURGH, March 14, 2012  /PRNewswire/ -- BodyMedia, Inc., a developer of wearable body monitors designed for health and wellness, today announced that its BodyMedia FIT Armbands are being used to help advance space exploration projects including International Space Station missions as well as The Mars Society's efforts to lay the groundwork for human exploration of the Red Planet. BodyMedia armbands track calories burned, steps taken, level of physical activity and sleep patterns, utilizing a proprietary four-sensor system that collects 5,000 data points per minute.

On the International Space Station (ISS), astronauts are wearing BodyMedia armbands for 10 days this month to monitor their physical activity as part of an experiment to determine astronauts' energy needs during long-term space flights.  The experiment is being performed by an international science team led by Dr. Stephane Blanc (Strasbourg) and Dr. Dale A Schoeller (University of Wisconsin-Madison) to help ensure the success of future space missions.

ISS astronauts also wore the BodyMedia monitors during training and will continue to wear the armband on the International Space Station for experiments over the next three years. The ISS flight-qualified Armband monitor was launched October 30, 2011, on a Progress M-13M rocket from Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome and arrived at the International Space Station on December 2, 2011.

At The Mars Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the human exploration and settlement of Mars, Crew 114 wore BodyMedia armbands during a simulated Moon-Mars mission at the Mars desert research station on the San Rafael Swell of southern Utah during February and March. Commander Dr. Balwant Rai (Vrije University Amsterdam;  Kepler Space Institute, USA) chose the armbands to monitor activity and sleep after using them to study the sleep patterns of astronauts. He plans to present the results at the 2012 International Astronautical Congress in Italy in October. 

"Our wearable body monitors are typically associated with consumer applications such as weight management, but these two space-related projects highlight the value of our technology in other important health-related arenas," said BodyMedia CEO Christine Robins.  "As we continue to form partnerships with new organizations, we are expanding the uses of our platform to a variety of wellness initiatives, clinical monitoring, remote care clinics, and even remote elder care and safety. The ISS and Mars Society uses of our armbands open a whole new area for mobile health."

About BodyMedia, Inc.

When your body talks, BodyMedia listens. BodyMedia has been unlocking and deciphering secrets of the body since 1999. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, BodyMedia is the pioneer in developing and marketing wearable body monitors that equip consumers with information they can use to make sweeping changes to their own health and wellness beginning with weight management and soon to include management of other conditions affected by lifestyle choices. The BodyMedia platform is the only system of its kind that is registered with the FDA as a Class II medical device and that has been clinically proven to enhance users' weight loss by up to three times (data on file). For more information, visit www.bodymedia.com.

SOURCE BodyMedia, Inc.

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