Cuffless blood pressure estimation using only a smartphone

Abstract

Cuffless blood pressure (BP) measurement is an all-inclusive term for a method that aims to measure BP without using a cuff. Recent cuffless technology has made it possible to estimate BP with reasonable accuracy. However, mainstream methods require an electrocardiogram and photoplethysmogram measurements, and frequent calibration procedures using a cuff sphygmomanometer. We therefore developed a far simpler cuffless method, using only heart rate (HR) and modified normalized pulse volume (mNPV) that can be measured using a smartphone, based on the knowledge that ln BP = ln cardiac output (CO) + ln total peripheral resistance (TPR), where CO and TPR are correlated with HR and mNPV, respectively. Here, we show that mean arterial pressure (MAP), systolic BP (SBP), and diastolic BP (DBP) could be estimated using the exponential transformation of linear polynomial equation, (a × ln HR) + (b × ln mNPV) + constant, using only a smartphone, with an accuracy of R > 0.70. This implies that our cuffless method could convert a large number of smartphones or smart watches into simplified sphygmomanometers.