Medicine Blood pressure measurement with your fingers on your own smartphone?

Simple blood pressure measurement by fingerprint on smartphone

High blood pressure is sometimes referred to as a "silent killer" because it has not been felt by patients for a long time and often notices when it has caused organ damage. Health experts therefore advise to regularly measure his blood pressure. This could be even easier in the future. And that by finger pressure on the smartphone. However, not all are convinced of the new method.

Many do not know about their high blood pressure

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), almost every third adult in Germany suffers from hypertension. Many do not know for a long time about their hypertension. This can have dangerous consequences, because untreated high blood pressure increases the risk for, inter alia, heart attack, stroke, heart failure, diseases of the coronary arteries, kidney failure and even dementia. So it's clear that you should better diagnose and treat hypertension early. Health experts therefore recommend regular blood pressure measurements. This could be even easier in the future.

Researchers have developed a device that makes it possible to measure the blood pressure by finger pressure on the smartphone. Not all are convinced of the new method. (Image: Tanusha / fotolia.com)

Conventional method for measuring blood pressure

"The treatment of hypertension can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease," says an article in the journal "Science Translational Medicine", in which a new device for measuring blood pressure is presented.

In standard blood pressure monitors, an artery on the arm or wrist is compressed by an inflatable cuff.

When the air is released, the oscillations in the blood flow are then measured.

Apply finger pressure to a sensor on the smartphone

The sphygmomanometer, developed by a team led by Ramakrishna Mukkamala of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, works a little differently.

The user uses the tip of his index finger to apply pressure to an optical sensor, which is attached to the back of the smartphone.

An app can be used to ensure that the user maintains adequate finger contact, while the blood pressure of the brachial artery is calculated from the finger-based measurements.

"The authors showed that the blood pressure readings were similar with their smartphone device, a standard wrist cuff device, and a finger cuff device in a group of participants," the journal Science Translational Medicine notes..

And: "This smartphone-based device could help to better measure blood pressure."

Not really convincing

In a contribution of the Deutsches Ärzteblatt, however, it is pointed out that the accuracy left something to be desired.

Accordingly, the deviations in precision (8.8 mmHg systolic and 7.7 mmHg diastolic) may be too much from a medical point of view.

At present, however, it is not foreseeable whether and when such a device will come onto the market. (Ad)