Getting Blood Pressure Reading On A Smartphone?

Hypertension, or more commonly known as high blood pressure, is a growing worldwide problem. 45 percent of people in developed nations and 55 percent of people in developing nations have hypertension and do not even know it. Without appropriate control, hypertension can ultimately lead to heart disease, stroke and chronic kidney disease.

People with hypertension may not have any symptoms at all. So, the first step is to regularly check the blood pressure using sphygmomanometer or blood pressure monitor. The monitor can be manual or digital, battery-powered. The size of blood pressure monitor has been reduced since it was first made but they are still not small enough for users to carry around.

Good news is that, one can soon use a finger to touch a smartphone case to have instant and accurate blood pressure readings. Researchers from Michigan State University, University of Maryland, and Chonnam National University, Korea revealed in March 7, 2018 issue of ‘Science Translational Medicine’ that they developed a sensor that turns a smartphone into a device capable of checking a person’s blood pressure. Smartphones are very common nowadays, with 2.5-hour daily usage by average adult. The researcher argue that people are more apt to use a blood pressure monitor if it is embedded in a smartphone device.

According to researchers, they invented a special phone case, using high-tech 3-D printing, that contains an embedded optical sensor on top of a force sensor. The optical sensor is photoplethysmography (PPG), which is an inexpensive optical tool that measures blood volume changes, and the force sensor is a thin-filmed force transducer that measures applied pressure. PPG has already been used to measure heart rate. Some fitness trackers and even the Samsung Galaxy are equipped with PPG heart rate monitors.

When a user presses a finger onto the sensor, it provides measurable pressure on an artery in the finger in the same way that a blood pressure cuff squeezes an artery in the arm. That information is then fed to a smartphone app to convert the data to a real-time blood pressure reading, displayed on the phone. The usability of the device was tested on 30 people and found that about 90 percent could position their finger correctly and get consistent readings after only 1 or 2 attempts.

The new device could indeed help improve rates of blood pressure measurement, and lead to better blood pressure control so as to reduce the incidence of strokes and heart attacks. But as any other medical devices, more rigorous testing must be done before it can become standard and make available to the public for use.

Can Smart Mobile Devices Help Lose Weight?

Being obese or overweight is no longer an individual issue. It has become a serious global health crisis. In the United States alone, it is estimated that nearly 68 percent of adults are either overweight or obese, and 5 to 10 percent of all healthcare costs in the United States are devoted to dealing with obesity related diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke.

Technology has been accused as a culprit among many other factors responsible for obesity epidemic. But recently, a group of researchers from various institutions including the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago found that mobile devices that enable people to track how much they eat and exercise might help them lose weight.

Their findings, which were published on January 28, 2013 in the ‘Archives of Internal Medicine’, reported that overweight and obese adults could lose an average of over 3.6 kilos more when they had personal digital assistants (PDAs) and occasional phone coaching to assist them, in addition to a group program.

69 overweight and obese people, who were in their late 50s and were referred to a Veterans Affairs clinic for weight-loss support, participated in the study.

Over a trial period of 6 months, the participants were enrolled in 12 group sessions that focused on nutrition, exercise and behavioral changes to promote weight loss. Half of the participants were given a PDA to record their food and activity throughout the day and there was a coach who was in contact with them by phone.

At the end of the trial period, those in the PDA group had lost an average of almost 10 pounds (4.5 kilos) and 41 percent of these participants had met the goal of losing at least 5 percent of their initial body weight. In comparison, those not in the PDA group had lost an average of 2 pounds (1 kilo) and only 11 percent of them had achieved the weight loss goal.

The most important thing about weight loss is self-monitoring - watch and keep a record of what is eaten. App (program) on a mobile device is cheaper and can easily be personalized. It can not only help people keep track of their eating habit but also help re-engage people who have trouble. Moreover, it can widely be available whenever people carry their mobile phones or PDAs.

While PDAs are mostly not in use nowadays, the emergence of smart phones such as iPhone, Android and Window phones can serve almost the same purpose. In the United States, smartphone usages continued to climb and more than 61 percent of mobile subscribers owned a smartphone.

Nevertheless, there is evidence that apps on mobile devices alone do not have much of an impact. Hence, experts believe that technology can only be used as an aid to help from a doctor or nutritionist.