KAIST: Blood Pressure Sensor

2023: Product Announcement

In mid-April 2023, a research team from the Catholic University of Korea and the Korea Institute for Advanced Technology (KAIST) unveiled a highly sensitive wearable piezoelectric blood pressure sensor that the developer claims works with the accuracy of medical devices.

Led by Professor Keon Jae Lee from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Medical College of the Catholic University of Korea, the scientists created a wearable device in the form of a watch, in which a sensor was built in to continuously collect indicators. Clinical trials have shown that the instrument measures both systolic and diastolic pressures with an error within 5 mmHg and a standard deviation of less than 8 mmHg. This meets international standards for relevant medical devices.

Illustration of the operation of the blood pressure sensor

To increase sensor sensitivity, the researchers transferred a highly sensitive inorganic piezoelectric membrane from the bulk sapphire substrates used in most commercial developments to flexible substrates. Ultra-thin devices with a thickness of several micrometers provide better contact with the skin and allow you to record blood pressure with high accuracy from the pulsation of blood vessels.

For April 2023, blood pressure is a critical indicator for assessing overall health and predicting stroke or heart failure. In particular, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, so periodic blood pressure measurement is critical for individual health care. Although smart watches using LED-based photoplethysmography technology have appeared on the market, these devices are limited by optical sensor accuracy limitations, which prevents them from meeting international standards for automatic sphygmomanometers.^[1]

Notes