A Simple Clip and Smartphone App Could Revolutionize Blood Pressure Monitoring
With the development of a simple and low-cost clip designed to work with a smartphone app, UC San Diego engineers hope to make regular blood pressure monitoring affordable and accessible, particularly for those in under-resourced communities. The clip doesn’t require calibration and can be made for just 80 cents each. Inexpensive clips that don’t require a trip to the clinic could be distributed to people who need them, and may be particularly beneficial for older adults and pregnant women with conditions such as hypertension. The researchers tested the device on 24 volunteers at the UC San Diego Medical Center, with results on par with traditional blood pressure testing methods.
A Clever Design Achieves Accurate Readings
The device is a 3D-printed plastic clip that attaches to a smartphone’s camera and flash using an optical design similar to that of a pinhole camera. When the user presses the clip, the smartphone’s flash illuminates the fingertip, which causes the light to be projected through a pinhole-sized channel and towards the camera as an image of a red circle. The longer the user presses, the larger the red circle appears, allowing the algorithm to covert the information into systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings.
Essential Benefits for Those with Limited Access to Healthcare
The engineers behind the blood pressure monitoring clip suggest that it could be an extremely useful tool in under-resourced communities, as it is inexpensive and can be distributed easily. The technology could mean that regular blood pressure checks could be a mass phenomenon. The current clip design should also be applicable for other smartphone models. As doctors and hospitals work to develop more digital solutions to healthcare-related issues, the work behind the blood pressure monitoring clip could spur additional innovations in this area.
Limitless Possibilities
At present, work is being done to improve the clip’s accuracy on different skin tones, whilst its creators are also working on making the technology easier to use, particularly for those who may not be so technically proficient. Additionally, its creators are exploring possibilities for universal design that will enable the clip to be used on a variety of smartphone models. Furthermore, its founders have created a company called Billion Labs Inc., where they hope to commercialize the technology.
Conclusion
The potential uses of the UC San Diego blood pressure monitoring clip could be limitless. It could revolutionize healthcare in under-resourced communities, whilst also offering a useful tool to those who are unable to visit their doctors regularly, regardless of where they live. This innovation from UC San Diego engineers is a very promising technological development. Its creators are already hard at work, making improvements and looking for ways to expand its functionality. This creative approach to tackling life-threatening medical issues through the use of technology could very well point the way to additional innovations in the future.
Summary:
Engineers at UC San Diego have created an inexpensive clip which clips on to a smartphone and uses the camera and flash to take accurate blood pressure readings. The use of this blood pressure clip opens up limitless possibilities for innovation in digital health technology. By being invaluable for use in under-resourced communities, the creation could lead to regular blood pressure checks for doctors and patients. Additionally, UC San Diego engineers are continuing to develop the technology, making it easier for all users to operate.
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Engineers at the University of California, San Diego have developed a simple, low-cost clip that uses a smartphone’s camera and flash to monitor blood pressure at the user’s fingertips. The clip works with a custom smartphone app and currently costs around 80 cents. The researchers estimate the cost could be as low as 10 cents each when manufactured at scale.
The technology was published on May 29 in scientific reports.
The researchers say it could help make regular blood pressure monitoring easy, affordable and accessible for people in under-resourced communities. It could benefit older adults and pregnant women, for example, in the management of conditions such as hypertension.
“We have created an inexpensive solution to lower the barrier of blood pressure control,” said the study’s first author, Yinan (Tom) Xuan, a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering. student at UC San Diego.
“Because of their low cost, these clips can be given to anyone who needs them but can’t get to a clinic regularly,” said study lead author Edward Wang, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at UC San Diego. and director of Digital Health Laboratory. “You might be given a blood pressure monitoring clip at your checkup, just like when you receive a pack of dental floss and a toothbrush at your dentist visit.”
Another key advantage of the clip is that it does not need to be calibrated to a sleeve.
“This is what sets our device apart from other blood pressure monitors,” Wang said. He explained that other cuffless systems being developed for smartwatches and smartphones require getting a separate set of measurements with a cuff for their models to can be adjusted to fit these measurements.
“Ours is a calibration-free system, which means you can use our device without touching another blood pressure monitor to get a reliable blood pressure reading.”
To measure blood pressure, the user simply presses the clip with their fingertip. A custom smartphone app guides the user on how hard and how long to press during the measurement.
The clip is a 3D-printed plastic accessory that clips onto a smartphone’s camera and flash. It features an optical design similar to that of a pinhole camera. When the user presses the clip, the smartphone’s flash illuminates the fingertip. That light is then projected through a pinhole-sized channel toward the camera as an image of a red circle. A spring inside the clip allows the user to press with different levels of force. The longer the user presses, the larger the red circle appears on the camera.
The smartphone app pulls two main pieces of information from the red circle. By looking at the size of the circle, the app can measure the amount of pressure applied by the user’s fingertip. And by looking at the brightness of the circle, the app can measure the volume of blood flowing in and out of the fingertip. An algorithm converts this information into systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings.
The researchers tested the clip on 24 volunteers at the UC San Diego Medical Center. The results were comparable to those obtained with a blood pressure cuff.
“Using a standard blood pressure cuff can be difficult to place correctly, and this solution has the potential to make it easier for older adults to monitor their blood pressure on their own,” said study co-author and medical associate Alison Moore, chief of the Division of Geriatrics in the Department of Medicine at the UC San Diego School of Medicine.
While the team has only tested the solution on a single smartphone model, the current clip design should theoretically work on other phone models, Xuan said.
Wang and one of his lab members, Colin Barry, a co-author on the paper and a UC San Diego electrical and computer engineering student, co-founded a company, Billion Labs Inc., to refine and commercialize the technology.
Next steps include making technology easier to use, especially for older adults; test its accuracy on different skin tones; and creating a more universal design.
Document: “Ultra-low-cost smartphone mechanical accessory for calibration-free blood pressure measurement.” Co-authors include Jessica De Souza, Jessica Wen, and Nick Antipa, all at UC San Diego.
This work is supported by the Massachusetts AI National Institute on Aging and the Center for Technology for Connected Care in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease (MassAITC P30AG073107 Subaward 23-016677 N 00), Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute Awards Galvanizing Engineering in Medicine (GEM), and a Google Research Scholar Award.
Disclosures: Edward Wang and Colin Barry are co-founders and have a financial interest in Billion Labs Inc. Wang is also the CEO of Billion Labs Inc. The other authors declare they have no competing interests. The terms of this agreement have been reviewed and approved by the University of California San Diego in accordance with its conflict of interest policies.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230529171802.htm
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