University of Pittsburgh researchers have developed an app that detects blood pressure using only your smartphone.

They harnessed tools already built into most smartphones, like motion-sensing accelerometers, front cameras, and touch sensors to build an Android smartphone app to measure an individual’s pulse pressure. 

You will simply raise your hand while holding the smartphone to make a measurement, as described in the journal Scientific Reports.

How it works

“Because of gravity, there’s a hydrostatic pressure change in your thumb when you raise your hands up above your heart, and using the phone’s accelerometer, you’re able to convert that into the relative change in pressure,” senior author Anand Chandrasekhar of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science said in a statement.

The app actually calculates pulse pressure, the difference between your upper (systolic) and lower (diastolic) numbers. Pulse pressure isn’t typically used in cardiovascular disease monitoring, but the study revealed its significance as a metric for detecting hypertension.

Goal: Accessible hypertension management worldwide

Systolic hypertension, or high blood pressure, affects more than 4 billion adults worldwide and is the leading modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the top cause of death globally. This app could bring blood pressure monitoring software to any smartphone owner, enabling consistent self-monitoring and easy sharing of results with healthcare providers. This innovation is especially promising for managing hypertension, which can often be lowered through lifestyle changes such as reducing salt intake, quitting smoking and exercising regularly. 

Citation: Landry, C., Dhamotharan, V., Freithaler, M., Hauspurg, A., Muldoon, M. F., Shroff, S. G., Chandrasekhar, A., & Mukkamala, R. (2024). A smartphone application toward detection of systolic hypertension in underserved populations. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-65269-w (open-access)

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