Future versions of the Apple Watch could accurately measure blood pressure without the need for any extra peripherals, such as a blood pressure cuff.
US Patent No 10,646,121 “pressure measurement designs,” describes a way of doing without a blood pressure cuff and still achieving accuracy in both positioning and data.
While the Apple Watch has always been able to measure your heart rate, it requires a cuff to be placed accurately over a vein. BP cuffs are available, but they wrap around the user’s entire wrist.
An Apple Watch feature like this would allow users to more easily check their blood pressure, likely increasing the number of folks that will check their blood pressure. There are a number of health-related benefits to the regular measurement of this data.
“Measuring pressure may be useful in monitoring one or more user parameters,” says the patent. “For example, blood pressure measurements may be a helpful user parameter to measure as elevated blood pressure (a.k.a. hypertension) may be an indicator for potential health issues.”
“Additionally, pressure measurements may also be indicative of a user’s heart rate,” it continues. “Further, in some instances, pressure measurements may provide blood pressure waveform morphologies which may be a useful user parameter to monitor.”
(Via AppleInsider)