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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Med. Technol.
Sec. Cardiovascular Medtech
Volume 6 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmedt.2024.1464473

A Prototype Photoplethysmography-based Cuffless Device Shows Promising Results in Tracking Changes in Blood Pressure

Provisionally accepted
Christine Hove Christine Hove 1,2*Frode Saeter Frode Saeter 1,3Alexey Stepanov Alexey Stepanov 4Kasper G. Bøtker-Rasmussen Kasper G. Bøtker-Rasmussen 4Trine M. Seeberg Trine M. Seeberg 4Espen Westgaard Espen Westgaard 4Sondre Heimark Sondre Heimark 1,2Bård Waldum-Grevbo Bård Waldum-Grevbo 1,2Jonny Hisdal Jonny Hisdal 1,3Anne Cecilie K. Larstorp Anne Cecilie K. Larstorp 1,5,6
  • 1 University of Oslo, Oslo, Oslo, Norway
  • 2 Department of Nephrology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
  • 3 Department of Vascular Surgery, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
  • 4 Aidee Health AS, Bærum, Norway
  • 5 Section for Cardiovascular and Renal Research, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
  • 6 Department of Medical Biochemistry, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction Non-invasive cuffless blood pressure devices have shown promising results in accurately estimating blood pressure when comparing measurements at rest. However, none of commercially available or prototype cuffless devices have yet been validated according to the appropriate standards. The aim of the present study was to bridge this gap and evaluate the ability of a prototype cuffless device, developed by Aidee Health AS, to track changes in blood pressure compared to a non-invasive, continuous blood pressure monitor (Human NIBP or Nexfin) in a laboratory set up. The performance was evaluated according to the metrics and statistical methodology described in the ISO 81060-3:2022 standard. However, the present study is not a validation study and thus the study was not conducted according to the ISO 81060-3:2022 protocol, e.g. non-invasive reference and distribution of age not fulfilled. Method Data were sampled continuously, beat-to-beat, from both the cuffless and the reference device. The cuffless device was calibrated once using the reference BP measurement. Three different techniques (isometric exercise, mental stress, and cold pressor test) were used to induce blood pressure changes in 38 healthy adults. Results The mean difference (standard deviation) was 0.3 (8.7) mmHg for systolic blood pressure, 0.04 (6.6) mmHg for diastolic blood pressure, and 0.8 (7.9) mmHg for mean arterial pressure, meeting the Accuracy requirement of ISO 81060-3:2022 (< 6.0 (10.0) mmHg). The corresponding results for the Stability criteria were 1.9 (9.2) mmHg, 2.9 (8.1) mmHg and 2.5 (9.5) mmHg. The acceptance criteria for the Change requirement were achieved for the 85th percentile of  50% error for diastolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure but were higher than the limit for systolic blood pressure (56% vs < 50%) and for all parameters for the 50th percentile (32-39% vs < 25%). Conclusions The present study demonstrated that the cuffless device could track blood pressure changes in healthy adults across different activities and showed promising results in achieving the acceptance criteria from ISO 81060-3:2022.

    Keywords: cuffless1, Blood Pressure2, healthy adults3, machine learning4, blood pressure changes5

    Received: 14 Jul 2024; Accepted: 01 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Hove, Saeter, Stepanov, Bøtker-Rasmussen, Seeberg, Westgaard, Heimark, Waldum-Grevbo, Hisdal and Larstorp. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Christine Hove, University of Oslo, Oslo, 0316, Oslo, Norway

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.