One of Apple's next moves in health care could be this blood pressure instrument

Continuing Apple's push into the health space, the company has done some research on a low-profile blood pressure measurement system compatible with technologies like the iPhone and Apple Watch.

Apple on Thursday was granted a patent for what appears to be a blood pressure-measuring device that connects to existing Apple devices.

"The system includes an expandable member or structure that has a multi-compartment structure and/or is mounted on a rigid surface or structure," reads the patent, issued from the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office. "The system is incorporated into a portable multi-function device, or is configured to communicate with a portable multi-function device."

Photos attached imply that the "portable multi-function device" referenced is the Apple Watch.

Good health

The product, should it come to fruition, would be Apple's first full-on medical device, and subject to US Food and Drug Administration oversight, which it has been reluctant to do. However, Apple has gotten much more ambitious about health-related software applications in recent years.

The patent application, titled "Cuff Designs and Methods" is credited to six Apple employees, with it filed in June 2016.

Apple launched HealthKit in 2004, and has continued to expand its functionality since. Earlier this year, Apple signed up 12 major U.S. health care providers to support Health Records in iOS, an effort to digitize health records and easily help providers share data while treating patients; that number has since expanded to 39. Earlier this week, Apple opened its Health Records API to developers.

Apple and blood pressure

Apple had filed a separate patent in October of 2017, for "intelligent blood pressure monitoring," but the new patent is different in at least one respect — it does not contain the word "intelligent."

A third-party, HealthKit-compatible blood-pressure monitor, QardioArm by Qardio, is available in Apple's retail stores. And last November, a study found that the Apple Watch can be used to detect such conditions as sleep apnea and hypertension.

9 Comments

rob53 3307 comments · 13 Years

About 6 years ago

Is this actually the right date? "Apple launched HealthKit in 2004"

Glanced through patent and it only references one previous patent. The patent looks like it describes a mini, inflatable device like the normal blood pressure cuff applied to the upper arm. This would be a very interesting device if they could get it to work properly with just the installed battery.

volcan 1799 comments · 10 Years

rob53 said:

Is this actually the right date? "Apple launched HealthKit in 2004"

Glanced through patent and it only references one previous patent. The patent looks like it describes a mini, inflatable device like the normal blood pressure cuff applied to the upper arm. This would be a very interesting device if they could get it to work properly with just the installed battery.

As you mention when you read the patent it mostly involves inflating a cuff with an air pump and reading an electronic pressure sensor. It is just a smaller version of what is currently in use in clinics today. It wouldn't likely be a passive device that would continually monitor blood pressure but probably a user initiated event. I still think to get an accurate reading the device would need to be quite bulky. Even so, there is a reason that the current BP cuffs are used on the bicep. The sounds of the systolic and diastolic blood pressure can be easily heard because the artery is large. The small arteries in the wrist are going have much fainter sounds and could be susceptible to background interference thus compromising the accuracy. Furthermore reading blood pressure during physical activity is problematic and I would suggest even more so with a wrist worn device - you would need to be at rest.

Since the obsolescence of old style mercury column devices, which was the gold standard, today various manufacturers use different algorithms to process the electronic sensor readings so there is some variance from device to device. They may need to get FDA approval but I would assume the disclaimers will be quite lengthy.

On the other hand it may just be one of those defensive patents that Apple has no intension of actually manufacturing.

Folio 698 comments · 7 Years

The main advantage I can see in putting this into Watch is that continuous monitoring could help change one's current behavior (like if it spikes stop watching national news. ;-) Not sure of the need, or how the market compares with glucose monitoring, etc. But pretty sure Apple knows.

gregg thurman 456 comments · 16 Years

Who cares how this works, or even if it does. The important issue is Apple's continued foray into health monitoring. As that OVERALL effort produces more genuine benefits the Apple Watch will become a necessity, not a luxury, and sales will go through the roof.

berndog 90 comments · 11 Years

volcan said:

rob53 said:

Is this actually the right date? "Apple launched HealthKit in 2004"

Glanced through patent and it only references one previous patent. The patent looks like it describes a mini, inflatable device like the normal blood pressure cuff applied to the upper arm. This would be a very interesting device if they could get it to work properly with just the installed battery.

As you mention when you read the patent it mostly involves inflating a cuff with an air pump and reading an electronic pressure sensor. It is just a smaller version of what is currently in use in clinics today. It wouldn't likely be a passive device that would continually monitor blood pressure but probably a user initiated event. I still think to get an accurate reading the device would need to be quite bulky. Even so, there is a reason that the current BP cuffs are used on the bicep. The sounds of the systolic and diastolic blood pressure can be easily heard because the artery is large. The small arteries in the wrist are going have much fainter sounds and could be susceptible to background interference thus compromising the accuracy. Furthermore reading blood pressure during physical activity is problematic and I would suggest even more so with a wrist worn device - you would need to be at rest.

Since the obsolescence of old style mercury column devices, which was the gold standard, today various manufacturers use different algorithms to process the electronic sensor readings so there is some variance from device to device. They may need to get FDA approval but I would assume the disclaimers will be quite lengthy.

On the other hand it may just be one of those defensive patents that Apple has no intension of actually manufacturing.

The gold standard contrary to popular belief has been the human ear listening to various sound producing devices. At the risk of upsetting a number of healthcare professionals, even cheap modern wrist sphygmomanometers are superior to the human ear and the brains they use to interpret incoming data.
While the automatic electronic cuffs do tend to read higher than mercury varieties thay are consistent in their interpretations over time. Humans are only as consistent as their intake of caffeine, loud music, etc.
if Apple goes forward with this one can be sure that they will exceed most current blood pressure monitoring devices by a significant margin.
Apple Watch is already capable of identifying when it’s wearer is at rest and I am confident it could coach and train wearers how to position themselves for an accurate measurement.