CES 2023: New Fingertip Blood Pressure Monitor Clips on Like a Pulse Oximeter

(Image: Valencell) Paying a visit to the doctor is rarely a palatable experience, and having your blood pressure checked by one of those vise-like arm cuffs certainly doesn’t help matters. Soon we might be able to skip that ordeal entirely, thanks to a device introduced this week at CES 2023.

Valencell, a biometric tech startup, unveiled a device Tuesday that can check a person’s blood pressure using just their fingertip. The currently-unnamed product clips on like a pulse oximeter and sends its readings to the user’s smartphone, where they can monitor their blood pressure in real time. Though the product is pending US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance, early test results are promising.

At the device’s core is photoplethysmography (PPG), the technology behind those green light heart rate and blood oxygen monitors you see on smartwatches and other wearables. As the monitor shines light into the body, a sensor captures blood flow patterns shown within that scattered light. Valencell’s own neural network (which it refers to as Deep-PPG) works with its net device to translate these patterns into a number of biometric datasets, including blood pressure.

(Image: Valencell)

These datasets are received, of course, by an app. Valencell doesn’t say how the two are connected, but most medical devices like this one connect to the user’s smartphone via Bluetooth. App screenshots also make it appear as though the device must be periodically charged.

Valencell takes pride in the fact that unlike a conventional cuff, its device doesn’t require calibration before use, as calibration is often where at-home users fumble. Instead, the user just inputs basic physical characteristics like age, height, weight, sex, and smoking status. The app uses these characteristics to calculate systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure measurements.

Valencell has tested its blood pressure monitoring device both in the lab and in four shopping malls, where informed volunteers could try the technology for themselves. The device’s accuracy for both SBP and DBP was reportedly “found to be sufficiently cuff-like” and appropriate for predicting both long-term blood pressure trends and possible hypertension, or high blood pressure.

FDA approval for the product could take until the end of 2023. If the agency offers its stamp of approval, Valencell will likely sell its device for $99, enabling both health clinics and individuals to monitor blood pressure more comfortably.

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