Medical technology has come a very long way where these days, it’s easy to buy medical devices that you can use in your own home, like a blood pressure monitor. However, the problem with these devices is that they can be bulky and require a cuff, meaning that if you don’t have the device with you, you can’t measure your blood pressure.
However, this is a problem Apple is looking to solve because according to a patent discovered by AppleInsider, it seems that Apple is exploring the idea of creating a cuffless blood pressure monitor. So how does this work? According to the patent, it will rely on what is known as a seismocardiogram.
This is a device that measures micro-vibrations and is usually used by placing it over the person’s sternum. As to how this has to do with blood pressure, based on the patent, it seems that Apple will employ the use of a neural network that will take that data from the seismocardiogram and use it to estimate blood pressure.
We’re not sure how accurate the results will be compared to more traditional methods, but as is the case with other health features found in Apple products like the Apple Watch, they aren’t meant to be used diagnostically, meaning that you shouldn’t take their readings as being medically accurate. However, they can be used to gauge your overall health and if you see any abnormal readings, you should go to a doctor for further investigation.
That being said, this is a patent so there’s no telling if and when Apple will actually create such a system, but if they did, we wouldn’t be surprised if it found its way into the Apple Watch.
Filed in . Read more about Health and Patent. Source: appleinsider