Publication: ACM 2024 Conference Proceeds – Development of a One Dollar Blood Pressure Monitor

Authors: Yinan Xuan, Ava J. Fascetti, Colin Barry, Edward J. Wang Abstract BPClip is an ultra-low-cost cuffless blood pressure monitor. As a universal smartphone attachment, BPClip leverages the computational imaging power of smartphones to perform oscillometry based blood pressure measurements. This paper examines different design considerations in BPClip's development. The cost and accuracy of blood pressure measurements are the central design goals. Both requirements are achieved with the initial prototype that achieves a 0.80 USD material cost and a mean absolute error of 8.72 and 5.49 mmHg for systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively. Since a main motivator to develop BPClip is making blood pressure monitoring more accessible, usability is also central to the design. User studies were conducted throughout the design process to inform the most intuitive and accessible design features. In this paper,…

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NIH Research Highlight: 2024 NIH Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias Research Progress Report – Understanding Risk and Protective Factors for Dementia | Spotlight: Blood pressure and dementia risk

The pilot project led by Ed Wang was spotlighted in the 2024 NIH Alzheimer's and Related Dementias annual research project report in the section focused on understanding the associated risk dementia factor of uncontrolled high blood pressure. Results from this early pilot study demonstrate the potential of smartphone-based blood pressure devices, which in the near future could help improve the accessibility of long-term blood pressure monitoring. This improved improved access to low-cost blood pressure monitoring has the potential to reduce a major contributing factor to dementia risk. Source: 2024 NIH Alzheimer's and Related Dementias Research Progress Report: Advances and Achievements

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Grant Funding: a2 Collective Pilot Award for attachment-less smartphone blood-pressure monitoring advancement

The Billion Labs Inc team led by Ed Wang has received a GY3 pilot award to further develop and achieve FDA clearance for a novel zero-attachments, smartphone only solution, VibroBP, to enable ubiquitous, low-cost blood pressure monitoring. The VibroBP technology was a result of the GY1 pilot work on the BPClip. Limitations of the mechanical solution led to the software only innovation. Source: https://massaitc.org/2024/04/19/a-downloadable-oscillometric-bp-monitor-for-all-smartphones-with-no-attachments/#

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NIH Research Highlight: Smartphone clip attachment may help some people self-monitor blood pressure

NIA-funded researchers have developed a low-cost, universal attachment that some people may be able to use with a smartphone to measure blood pressure from their fingertips. News of the device was published in Scientific Reports. Hand holds blood pressure device, pulse from finger of other hand is being measuredPrototype of the BPClip, courtesy of the Digital Health Lab/University of California, San Diego.University of California, San Diego researchers developed “BPClip” for at-home access to blood pressure monitoring, especially for people who find it difficult to access health care services. A plastic clip attaches to a smartphone camera and is used with a custom smartphone application to measure blood pressure from the pulse at the user’s fingertip as the finger presses into the clip. Other cuffless devices require calibration using blood pressure cuffs. BPClip does not —…

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Publication: Development of a One Dollar Blood Pressure Monitor

Authors: Yinan Xuan, Ava J. Fascetti, Colin Barry, Edward J. Wang Abstract BPClip is an ultra-low-cost cuffless blood pressure monitor. As a universal smartphone attachment, BPClip leverages the computational imaging power of smartphones to perform oscillometry based blood pressure measurements. This paper examines different design considerations in BPClip's development. The cost and accuracy of blood pressure measurements are the central design goals. Both of these requirements are achieved with the initial prototype that achieves a $0.80 USD material cost and a mean absolute error of 8.72 and 5.49 mmHg for systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively. Since a main motivator to develop BPClip is making blood pressure monitoring more accessible, usability is also central to the design. User studies were conducted throughout the design process to inform the most intuitive and accessible design features. In…

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Publication: Ultra-low-cost mechanical smartphone attachment for no-calibration blood pressure measurement

Authors: Yinan Xuan, Colin Barry, Jessica De Souza, Jessica H Wen, Nick Antipa, Alison A Moore, Edward J Wang Abstract We propose an ultra-low-cost at-home blood pressure monitor that leverages a plastic clip with a spring-loaded mechanism to enable a smartphone with a flash LED and camera to measure blood pressure. Our system, called BPClip, is based on the scientific premise of measuring oscillometry at the fingertip to measure blood pressure. To enable a smartphone to measure the pressure applied to the digital artery, a moveable pinhole projection moves closer to the camera as the user presses down on the clip with increased force. As a user presses on the device with increased force, the spring-loaded mechanism compresses. The size of the pinhole thus encodes the pressure applied to the finger. In conjunction, the brightness…

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