Miniature Wearable Sensor Enables Continuous Cuffless Blood Pressure Monitoring

Blood pressure is a key indicator of cardiovascular health, but conventional cuff-based measurement typically provides only a single reading at one point in time. This can limit monitoring during everyday activities and leave changes between measurements undetected. To enable more continuous assessment, researchers have developed a tiny wearable sensor designed to measure blood pressure without an inflatable cuff.

The device was developed at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology’s Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Known as SPADE, the technology combines silicon photonics with optoacoustic sensing and is designed to measure blood pressure continuously without requiring active input from the user.

SPADE works by using short pulses of light to generate ultrasound waves inside an artery. The sensor measures both the artery’s absolute diameter and the minute changes that occur with each heartbeat. These measurements are then used to reconstruct the full blood pressure waveform and estimate blood pressure in real time over extended periods.

The miniature sensing approach is intended to overcome a limitation of earlier technologies by directly measuring absolute arterial diameter. The researchers combined this capability with artificial intelligence-based modeling of arterial behavior, providing a broader foundation for estimating continuous blood pressure from a single wearable sensing component.

In proof-of-concept testing with volunteers, the system captured blood pressure waveform characteristics at a rate of 100 measurements per second. The technology relies on a single miniature sensing component rather than complex sensor arrays and was also described as relatively tolerant of changes in sensor position and angle.

The findings were published in Nature Communications. The researchers believe the sensor could eventually be incorporated into smartwatches, medical patches, and other wearable devices. Such use could support continuous monitoring at home, at work, and during daily activities for people with cardiovascular disease.

Related Links
Technion - Israel Institute of Technology