Researchers on the University of Pittsburgh are pioneering a brand new approach to blood pressure monitoring — using the devices we stock with us on daily basis.
Ramakrishna Mukkamala, professor of bioengineering at Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering, is keen about developing accessible blood pressure (BP) detection tools. As a substitute of designing a brand new medical device to observe BP, Mukkamala decided to reap the benefits of what’s in nearly everyone’s pockets — smartphones — and work out tips on how to detect blood pressure using sensors already built into them.
“Essentially the most significant thing you’ll be able to do to cut back your risk of heart problems is to lower hypertension through lifestyle changes, but in underserved populations, many individuals do not have access to blood pressure cuffs, regular doctor’s appointments, and even comprehend it’s an issue,” Mukkamala said. “But they do have smartphones.”
Mukkamala’s team harnessed tools already built into most smartphones, like motion-sensing accelerometers, front cameras, and touch sensors to construct a smartphone application on an Android that may measure a person’s pulse pressure.The user performs a hand-raising motion while holding the smartphone to make a measurement. The outcomes of the project “A smartphone application toward detection of systolic hypertension in underserved populations,” published in Scientific Reports, show a promising latest technology that would uniquely help reduce the burden of systolic hypertension globally, particularly in underserved populations.
Designing blood pressure technology for a touchscreen
Turning a smartphone right into a monitoring device isn’t any easy task, as Vishaal Dhamotharan, graduate student within the Cardiovascular Health Tech Laboratory, came upon through multiple iterations of app development. Because smartphones do not have force sensing tools, a vital element of the project was determining tips on how to replicate the consequences of a conventional blood pressure exam using only a cellphone, which the team solved by utilizing a well-recognized force — gravity.
“Due to gravity, there is a hydrostatic pressure change in your thumb while you raise your hands up above your heart, and using the phone’s accelerometer, you are capable of convert that into the relative change in pressure.” Dhamotharan said.
By pairing this hand-raising motion with guided thumb maneuvers on the smartphone, the team was capable of calculate each participant’s pulse pressure. Pulse pressure is the difference between your upper (systolic) and lower (diastolic) numbers — for instance, a person with a BP measurement of 120/80 has a pulse pressure of 40. For Sanjeev Shroff, collaborator and bioengineering department chair, this publication is a promising advancement for blood pressure measurement devices.
“Development of a cuffless blood pressure measurement device that doesn’t require any external calibration is the holy grail — such a tool currently doesn’t exist,” Shroff said. “The research work reported on this publication is a vital step in the appropriate direction, and can also be encouraging for added work geared toward obtaining systolic, diastolic, and mean pressures.”
Although pulse pressure is not typically utilized in heart problems monitoring, the study revealed its significance as a metric for detecting hypertension, based on Céderick Landry, assistant professor on the University of Sherbrooke and former postdoctoral researcher within the lab.
“Guidelines typically require doctors to measure each systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and pulse pressure is just the difference between the 2.” Landry said. “We showed that in the event you only have access to pulse pressure, it’s still very correlated with hypertension, so a part of our challenge now could be changing the mentality on tips on how to best measure things.”
Hypertension management nearby
Systolic hypertension, or hypertension, affects greater than 4 billion adults worldwide and is the leading modifiable risk factor for heart problems, the highest reason behind death globally. This app could bring blood pressure monitoring software to any smartphone owner, enabling consistent self-monitoring and simple sharing of results with healthcare providers. This innovation is particularly promising for managing hypertension, which may often be lowered through lifestyle changes equivalent to reducing salt intake, quitting smoking and exercising repeatedly.
“This app could be really useful in low-income settings where people may not even have existing access to blood pressure tools.” Dhamotharan said. “With the ability to measure blood pressure more continuously would allow a person to trace any significant changes in blood pressure, monitor for hypertension, and give you the chance to administer their conditions with that knowledge.”
With people living in rural parts of the U.S. 40% more likely than urban residents to develop heart disease, this technology could possibly be crucial for providing accessible healthcare tools to communities each in the US and across the globe. Looking ahead, Mukkamala’s team is working on further improving smartphone blood pressure monitoring to the purpose that it could actually get within the hands of the individuals who need it most.
“The research is here — we just need some help making the technology higher.” Landry said. “That is the primary approach to its kind, and even higher, it’s something that we are able to start implementing without delay.”
