There will be less hassle.
A small, wearable patch, roughly the size of a postage stamp, may soon revolutionize blood pressure management by offering continuous monitoring. Developed by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, this innovative ultrasound patch has shown promising results in tests involving over 100 patients, according to a study published on November 20 in Nature Biomedical Engineering.
Maintaining healthy blood pressure levels, typically 120/80, is vital for preventing numerous health issues such as heart disease, stroke, kidney problems, dementia, and vision loss. While traditional cuff-and-meter devices provide single-point readings, they may overlook critical variations in blood pressure.
“Our wearable patch delivers a continuous stream of blood pressure waveform data, uncovering detailed trends and fluctuations,” explained study co-author Sai Zhou, a recent doctoral graduate from UC San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering. This capability could address gaps in traditional monitoring methods, Zhou added in a university press release.
The soft, flexible patch adheres to the forearm and uses an array of miniature ultrasound transducers to track changes in blood vessel diameter. These measurements are converted into real-time blood pressure readings.
Developers noted that the patch’s performance is on par with both traditional blood pressure cuffs and invasive arterial-line monitors commonly used in intensive care and surgical settings. In trials involving patients in intensive care and those undergoing cardiac catheterization, the patch’s readings closely aligned with measurements from these gold-standard methods, suggesting it could serve as a reliable noninvasive alternative.
The patch has been tested during various daily activities—cycling, eating, meditating, and transitioning between sitting and standing—to ensure accuracy across diverse conditions. Results consistently matched those of standard blood pressure cuffs, demonstrating the patch’s versatility and precision.
“Blood pressure fluctuates significantly due to factors like ‘white coat syndrome,’ masked hypertension, daily activities, or medication use, making it difficult to diagnose or manage treatment accurately,” said Sheng Xu, a professor of chemical and nanoengineering at UC San Diego and lead developer of the patch. “Testing this device in real-world and clinical settings was crucial.”
The research team is now focused on further refining the patch and conducting large-scale clinical trials to bring this groundbreaking technology closer to widespread use.
Discussion about this post