Light, Sound, and the Future of Blood Pressure Monitoring
The sensor delivers short light pulses that generate ultrasound waves within the blood. These signals reveal changes in arterial diameter, which are converted into blood pressure estimates following individual calibration. A single detector captures measurements 100 times per second, while laboratory tests showed tolerance to changes in sensor position and angle. In two volunteers, 120 brief recordings collected over three months showed agreement with a reference finger-cuff monitor. The prototype remains connected to tabletop equipment, and testing was conducted while participants remained still.
A team of researchers from the Technion Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, led by Prof. Amir Rosenthal and Dr. Danny Lange, developed a miniature sensor that brings continuous, cuffless blood pressure monitoring a step closer. The study carried out by the graduate students Gil Gelbert, Ron Moisseev, Yoav Hazan and Tamar Harary, describes the combined use of laser light with tiny silicon-photonics acoustic detectors to track an artery’s pulsations near the wrist. Initial tests demonstrate the approach’s potential to capture blood pressure changes without an inflatable cuff used in almost all setting to measure blood pressure.
“Our study shows how miniature optical sensing could make continuous blood pressure monitoring practical, possibly using wearable devices such as smart watches, opening opportunities to understand and address cardiovascular health in real time” says co-senior author Amir Rosenthal. With further development, the approach could help reveal blood pressure fluctuations, support hypertension management and inform treatment decisions. Achieving these benefits will require portable hardware and larger clinical studies to establish performance across diverse populations and everyday activities.
The study, published in Nature Communications, can be found here.
