The next Apple Watch could measure your blood pressure — here's how

The next Apple tree Picket could measure your blood pressure — hither's how

(Image credit: Time to come)

It's no secret that Apple is extremely interested in the health applications of its applied science. The Apple Watch has been capable of giving electrocardiograms and detecting irregular heart rhythms since the Apple Scout Serial 4, and more than wellness checks are supposedly on the way in the Apple Watch viii.

At present a new patent, uncovered by AppleInsider, shows how a time to come Apple tree Sentinel could measure blood pressure, without needing to adhere one of those inflating cuffs.

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Although wrist-based wearables are never mentioned, the Apple tree Lookout would seem the virtually sensible destination. The patent, entitled "Stretchable Blood Pressure level Gage", explains how a stretchy band could secure an inflatable bladder against the body, "compressing one or more blood vessels in the limb and restricting and/or stopping blood period through the vessels." The resulting data could be "used to determine one or more physiological parameters of a user such as blood pressure of the user."

It would work via "a float assembly configured to retain a fluid within an internal sleeping room."

It sounds a bit uncomfortable, but then so is using a blood pressure measuring cuff at the best of times. The advantage here is that you wouldn't demand whatever extra equipment, and every bit the patent explains "in some cases, it might be desirable to clothing the monitoring device for longer periods of time such that physiological measurements can exist performed periodically or continuously."

Notably, Apple tree wouldn't be the first company to introduce blood pressure monitoring, but this is the outset time that the apparatus would resemble that institute in a md'southward role. The Samsung Milky way Picket 3 introduced a characteristic to measure this, merely when I tested it, I was advised that I needed to recalibrate it with a regular claret pressure level cuff once a month to ensure it maintained accuracy, which is invasive in its ain way.

Wrist blood pressure monitors exist, but not everyone is convinced that they're as accurate every bit an arm-based gage. "To get an authentic reading when taking your blood pressure with a wrist monitor, your arm and wrist must be at heart level," writes Sheldon Grand. Sheps, Physician on the Mayo Clinic website, as spotted by an AppleInsider commenter. "Fifty-fifty then, blood pressure measurements taken at the wrist are commonly higher and less authentic than those taken at your upper arm. That's because the wrist arteries are narrower and not as deep under your peel as those of the upper arm."

There'south also the question of how Apple can build a strap that'southward simultaneously stretchy enough to compensate for a claret force per unit area float and wait inconspicuous, which could make or break the characteristic. But, as AppleInsider noted, the patent details don't look a million miles away from the Apple Lookout man 7 on a Leather Link band:

A clip from the patent vs the Apple Watch 7 with current strap — (Image credit: Apple tree Insider / Apple)

A patent is just a patent, and there's no guarantee this will ever be produced in a commercial product. But information technology'southward an interesting insight into Apple'south possible solutions in making the Apple Sentinel a surrogate md on your wrist, nonetheless.

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Freelance correspondent Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in betwixt. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are institute all over the spider web and in the occasional mag besides. When non weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, yous'll probably detect him tackling his always-growing games backlog. Or, more likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth time.