How Does It Work?
The FDA has not yet approved the unnamed device yet, but it is reported to measure blood flow patterns using PPG sensors. This data is then put via an algorithm that determines the movement using data from 7,000 patient records. The user’s age, weight, gender, and height are then added to it to obtain a blood pressure reading. Additionally, the device‘s built-in screen will display both the diastolic and systolic values, and they will also be relayed to the associated mobile app.
Competitors
Despite Valencell’s claims that their work is original, at least one other device that substitutes PPG and algorithms for a cuff has been observed. The University of Missouri debuted its own finger clip at the beginning of 2022 that connects two PPG sensors, one on each side of the finger. Given the necessity to account for a person’s age, gender and weight, that device was, by its makers’ own admission, much less accurate for diastolic measurements.
Benefits
The users will not need to calibrate Valencell’s monitor with an initial cuff reading because it seems to imply that those problems have been resolved with more data. That certainly looks like a sign of progress in the finer points of healthcare monitoring. It acts like a new weapon in the fight against hypertension which plans to make it available for use in clinical settings for remote patient monitoring or chronic care management.
Price & Availability
Valencell wishes to sell the cuffless monitor for $99. Although, the launch of the Valencell cuffless monitor won’t happen until the FDA has given the hardware its careful inspection, which might take most of the year. So we can expect it to arrive in the market in the second half of 2023.
