A wearable patch that can monitor blood pressure continuously could help people with the disease in managing hypertension has been developed.
The patch is the size of a postage stamp and researchers and the developers of the new device at the University of California, San Diego have reported that it has worked well for more than 100 patients in the testing period, according to UPI.
"Traditional blood pressure measurements with a cuff, which are limited to providing one-time blood pressure values, can miss critical patterns," said study co-author Sai Zhou.
"Our wearable patch offers a continuous stream of blood pressure waveform data, allowing it to reveal detailed trends in blood pressure fluctuations," he added in a statement released by the university.
The small, soft and stretchy patch is supposed to be worn on the forearm and an array of tiny transducers in it send and receive ultrasound waves that observe and track changes in the diametre of the blood vessels.
The observations are then converted into blood pressure values.
The device is accurate according to the researchers who say that it produces results just as compatible with the standard blood pressure cuff and a device inserted into an artery in intensive care units and operating rooms — they are used to continuously monitor and observe the blood pressures of patients.
The patch was tested on patients during their daily activities such as cycling, meditating and eating.
"Blood pressure can be all over the place, depending on factors like white coat syndrome [being in a doctor's office], masked hypertension, daily activities or use of medication, which makes it tricky to get an accurate diagnosis or manage treatment," said professor of chemical and nanoengineering at UC San Diego who also developed the patch, Sheng Xu.
"That's why it was so important for us to test this device in a wide variety of real-world and clinical settings,” the developer added.
His team is now planning to conduct large-scale trials of the device and further refine it.
