Per Nat Levy, The University of Texas Cockrell School of Engineering, and Alleynah Veatch Cofas in UT News, “Blood pressure e-tattoo promises continuous, unobtrusive monitoring”

“Blood pressure is one of the most important indicators of heart health, but it’s tough to frequently and reliably measure outside of a clinical setting. For decades, cuff-based devices that constrict around the arm to give a reading have been the gold standard. But now, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University have developed an electronic tattoo that can be worn comfortably on the wrist for hours and deliver continuous blood pressure measurements at an accuracy level exceeding nearly all available options on the market today.”

We have had a ton of advancements in recent years with smartwatch monitoring with light based sensors but accuracy has been hard to acertain as watches slide around the wrist.

This development would be of importance in the monitoring of blood pressure in a patient outside of the office to capture blood pressue doing routine activity including times of high stress and sleeping and help in adjusting medications to get better blood pressure control.

Something to watch for in the future….but if you’ve got elevated blood pressure, remember to do your part…monitor your blood pressure with what we know works and is available, keep a blood pressure log, and take this in for your next doctor’s appointment.