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The current gold standard, the cuffed sphygmomanometer, cannot provide continuous blood pressure results. It cannot be used while patients sleep or if they are active.
“For close to a century, the health sector has used the cuff device to measure blood pressure,” said associate professor Mehmet Yuce from Monash University in Australia. “More invasive measures are used to monitor the continuous blood pressure of critically ill patients, which are uncomfortable and could potentially cause infection due to ischemia.”
To come up with a new solution, professor Yuce and colleagues used continuous wave radar (CWR) and photoplethysmogram (PPG) sensors to calculate continuous blood pressure measurements. The CWR and PPG sensors were placed on the sternum and left earlobe respectively.
By using radar technology, researchers were able to calculate the pre-ejection period – the mechanical delay associated with heart movements ejecting the blood – and the pulse transit time, to estimate blood pressure in patients while sitting, lying down or exercising.
In a trial with 43 participants, results on subjects doing posture tasks were 93% accurate, while those doing exercises were 83% accurate.
The team has developed several prototypes and will conduct further tests to make it more accurate and suitable for clinical use.
“People with high, low or irregular blood pressure can't get the critical information they need about the state of their health around the clock,” professor Yuce said.
“A wearable device that can provide comfort and portability while people are going about their daily lives will be a significant development for the health sector.”
The research was published in Scientific Reports.
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