A New Way To Check Blood Pressure

1 min

Researchers at the University of Toronto have found that you may be able to check your blood pressure by taking a video selfie of your face with a smartphone. The investigators report that this will be possible using a new app that displays blood flow in the face and calculates blood pressure. The new method isn’t ready for prime time yet but has been used to measure the blood flow of 1,328 Canadian and Chinese adults using an iPhone equipped with transdermal optical imaging software. The investigators found that the method predicted systolic blood pressure (the top number) with nearly 95 percent accuracy and diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) with pulse pressure at nearly 96 percent accuracy. The researchers say taking a selfie would be easier for patients who need to monitor their blood pressures, especially those who have trouble using a cuff measuring device, and those who refuse to check their pressures as often as recommended.

Source:
Kang Lee et al, “Smartphone-Based Blood Pressure Measurement Using Transdermal Optical Imaging Technology.” Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging, August 2019, DOI: 10.1161/CIRCIMAGING.119.008857

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