Startup Adapts AI Used In Space To Advance Healthcare On Earth “If your dad would just wear a space suit, I could monitor him.” It’s not often that a random joke leads to the creation of a company, but that’s exactly what happened with Ejenta, a digital health startup. getty Maarten Sierhuis, a NASA alum, had made the comment to Rachna Dhamija, a tech veteran and his future cofounder. Both were dealing with aging parents who had health issues. Sierhuis had spent 12 years as a senior research scientist at NASA, where he used sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor astronauts in space. The technology allowed Mission Control to monitor changes in an astronaut’s vitals and predict when they needed help.