Measuring Blood Pressure: from Cuff to Smartphone.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

For measurement of blood pressure, using inflatable cuff-based technology can be inconvenient, uncomfortable, and requires special equipment. These issues could be overcome by using a contactless technology that measures blood pressure with the ubiquitous smartphone.

RECENT FINDINGS

In a proof of concept study involving normotensive participants, Luo et al. demonstrated brachial blood pressure measurements from video of the face with accuracy comparable to traditional automated blood pressure monitors. There is still some way to go before contactless blood pressure measurement technology is sufficiently accurate and robust for clinical use. For example, variations in skin tone and lighting conditions must be addressed. Further, new predictive features will be necessary to reveal added information about blood pressure and thus improve prediction accuracy. New tools are likely to encourage blood pressure measurements in more people, in more places, and with more regularity than ever before.