The University of California San Diego has introduced its latest innovation that expands more of health tech with a smartphone attachment that is easy to use and portable, with the capabilities to measure blood pressure. This new device is called the "BPClip," and it is an ultra-low-cost device that can determine a person's blood pressure right off their fingertips.
Different companies have made measuring blood pressure portable with wearables and automatic machines that are compact, but this new device takes it to a whole new level.
BPClip: Ultra-Low-Cost BPClip to Measure Blood Pressure
(Photo : Matthias Oberholzer on Unsplash)
According to a report by Ars Technica, a new invention called the BPClip from researchers of UC San Diego brings forth a new device that centers on an ultra-low-cost smartphone attachment and is capable of significant heart monitoring.
This device is easily portable as it is only small and compact, only needing a smartphone camera and flash so that it can determine a person's blood pressure readings.
The team, led by Yinan Xuan, published their study in the Nature journal, with the device being an $0.80 piece of plastic.
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Smartphone Attachment Measures BP Off Fingertips
UC San Diego's BPClip is a plastic clip that has a spring so users can press their fingers on it and have the smartphone light illuminate the tips, leveraging oscillometry and physics. The device would then help record the pulses seen using the BPClip and the flashlight, with an app developed to read it, thereby giving users an interpretation of the results.
The use of the spring by pressing and de-pressing it can help restrict and open up blood flow which measures both the maximum (systolic) and minimum (diastolic) pressure, says the team.
The researchers are looking to further develop the BPClip with their startup company, Billion Labs Inc., for future applications.
Blood Pressure and Heart Health in the US
Heart health is important, especially in this day and age when technology is at its peak, with the digital world enticing people to stay at home and lead people to an inactive lifestyle.
There are risks to heart diseases now, and being wary of this starts with looking at different apps that help track sleep and promote walking, getting into the proper lifestyle for one's future.
Different studies have looked into negating the effects of heart diseases that are present in a massive part of the current population, with one example centering on a 'bionic' pacemaker for the cardiovascular muscle. This device claims that it can monitor a person's breathing and alter the heart rate, with the possibility of reversing irregular heartbeat problems.
The United States has a massive case of poor heart health and has been an apparent problem for the country and its citizens, with many looking to develop technology to help against it.
UC San Diego's latest device may not have the fancy tech there is among other studies, but it presents an economic smartphone attachment that millions may use in monitoring their blood pressure at all times.
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