Researchers Found A New Way To Monitor Blood Pressure With Selfie

Aadhya Khatri - Aug 11, 2019

The new method might provide a timely diagnosis for victims of high blood pressure, who have limited access to healthcare

Some Chinese and Canadian researchers have teamed up to develop a new way to keep track of human blood pressure by using selfie.

The team, based at the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University and the University of Toronto, announced a proof of concept that lets people monitor their blood pressure by recording a short video with their smartphones.

selfie-high-blood-pressure — The new method might provide people with cheap and reliable readings of their blood pressure via selfie

According to Kang Lee, the lead author and a University of Toronto’s developmental psychologist, the team was using transdermal optical imaging for this method. The underlying principle is to make use of light generated by the cameras of smartphones to find proteins when they bounce off human skin.

With the help of machine learning algorithms, the data collected by this method will be turned into blood pressure readings with an accuracy rate of around 95%, as stated by Lee.

However, there is one major obstacle. The team tested this method on a group of 1.328 people consisting of mostly European and East Asian, so there is a chance that it can be inaccurate when dealing with people of color.

By theory, the test should work on everyone regardless of the color of their skin. For now, this method of tracking blood pressure relies on light bouncing off hemoglobin and other protein, but it is inconclusive whether the test may have a problem maintaining its accuracy rate when other protein or melanin is involved.

According to Lee, the team would conduct more tests on a wider range of skin types to ensure that the effect of the method is universal.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is the leading cause of cardiac events, including stroke and heart attack all over the world. So if this research proves to be fruitful, it has the potential to be an affordable testing method for those who have limited access to healthcare.

The number of deaths by hypertension might decrease if more patients have a timely diagnosis. It is also proved that a change in diet, medication, and exercise can help ease the effect of high blood pressure.