news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

it home reported on september 15 that technology media ucsd published a blog post on september 13, reporting that billion labs launched an application called vibro.you can measure your blood pressure at home using your mobile phone without the need for other equipment.

how it works

when measuring blood pressure with this app, the user needs to hold the phone with both hands, press the front camera area with the thumb of one hand, keep both arms straight and slowly raise them from a hanging position to above the head. the program will calculate the pulse pressure value, which is the difference between systolic pressure (high pressure) and diastolic pressure (low pressure).

the app uses a combination of the phone's built-in camera, vibration motor, and motion sensor to detect blood pressure. it home attaches the relevant working principle below:

when a user presses their finger on the screen of a vibrating phone, the finger pressure weakens the vibration. the vibro app senses the degree of weakening and uses this value to calculate the pressure on the screen.

through the relatively thin tissue of the finger, the camera is able to observe the pulse and the point where finger pressure cuts off blood flow, and determine the oscillatory blood pressure value using a standard calculation method based on the time elapsed after blood flow is cut off.

its basic principle is similar to that of the common cuff-type automatic sphygmomanometer, both of which are based on the oscillation waves generated by changes in arterial pressure.

test situation

in a trial involving 24 volunteers using android phones, the app measured pulse pressure to within 8 mmhg, but it currently only gives pulse pressure values, not high and low pressures.

project team members

from left to right: chelsea maples, tatsuo kumamoto, ampi averbuj, colin barry, edward wang, image source: official website

billion labs was founded by electrical engineers from the university of california, san diego, and the vibro app was designed primarily by:

edward wang: assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, jacobs school of engineering and design lab

colin barry: phd student at jacobs school of engineering and design lab