Wearable blood pressure cuff allows users to track hypertension at home

A wearable blood pressure cuff that allows users to track and trend hypertension was featured in a multi-sensory ‘home of imagination’ pop-up in London.

OMRON Healthcare’s EVOLV was demonstrated at the Amazon Alexa event in Shepherd’s Bush, which also included live demos of Alexa home devices and technologies that allow users to turn on their car through the devices.

The wireless cuff is designed to be used in any location alongside an app, OMRONConnect, where users can store their data.

Using an algorithm the device can predict how tight the cuff needs to be inflated and also warns users when it’s been put on incorrectly, which could distort the blood pressure reading.

A simple touch of a button prompts the cuff to inflate and measure the systolic and diastolic blood pressure along with the pulse rate.

That information is then transferred via Bluetooth to the free OMRONConnect app, where users can store their data and opt to send it on to doctors, clinicians and anyone else who they wish to share it with.

Charlie Fox, general manager of OMRON Healthcare, told Digital Health News: “Most of the audience for it is people who have been diagnosed with hypertension so they can track and trend it and make sure their readings are below an acceptable level.

“One of the things that we are trying to drive is awareness of how dangerous it is.

“Tracking and trending it is also important because you can then see if it’s under control… so if you are a diagnosed hypertensive and you are on treatment but that treatment isn’t working then that’s a chance to go and see your doctor about it.”

The information can also be consolidated into a graph to allow users to monitor changes in their blood pressure, alerting them to any possible cause for concern.

The EVOLV device stores up to 100 readings, allowing users to measure their blood pressure even without the app to hand.

OMRON Healthcare partnered with Amazon about 12 months ago to enable users to connect their EVOLV device to their Alexa.

Alexa not only reads results back to the user but also offers NHS verified information on hypertension in the event of an abnormal reading.

In July the Department of Health and Social Care announced a new partnership with Alexa to bring verified health information into people’s homes. It’s hoped the world-first collaboration will empower people to take greater control of their health and care.

But the announcement caused concerns around patient safety and data protection. Phil Booth, a coordinator at medConfidential told Digital Health News at the time that personal and health data is heavily protected under GDPR in the UK, but Amazon Alexa doesn’t comply with the same laws

Fox assured appropriate data protection measures were in place to prevent user data being shared without permission.

“OMRON Connect has been designed regarding the highest standards in privacy and protection. Users have to agree and give their consent before OMRON Connect can share their data with third parties,” he said.

“This will never happen without express consent from the user.”

Hypertension affects one in three people worldwide, yet half of those with the condition are aware that they have it.

It is the number one contributing risk factor for deaths, raising a person’s risk of heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular conditions.