Wearable Electronic Tattoo Designed for More Effective Blood Pressure Measurements, Monitoring

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University recently developed a wearable electronic tattoo for better monitoring and more accurate blood pressure recording.

Blood pressure is among the most essential indicators of heart health, as specified in a SciTechDaily report, although it is a struggle to frequently and dependably measure beyond a clinical setting.

For several decades, cuff-based devices constricting around the arm to offer a reading have been considered a gold standard.

The e-tattoo can be worn comfortably on the wrists for hours and deliver continuous blood pressure measurements at a preciseness level going beyond almost all available choices on the market today.

Cuffless Blood Pressure Measurement and Monitoring

According to professor Deji Akinwande from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UT Austin and one of the project's co-leaders, blood pressure is an essential sign one can measure.

However, the professor added, the methods to do it passively outside a clinic minus a cuff are quite limited. The study that Akinwande co-led was published in Nature Nanotechnology.

Essentially, high blood pressure can result in severe heart conditions if left untreated. It can be difficult to capture using a traditional blood pressure check as that measures only a moment in time, a single data point.

Professor of biomedical engineering, computer science, and electrical engineering Roozbeh Jafari from Texas A&M is also a co-leader of the project.

E-Tattoo

This constant monitoring of the e-tattoo allows for measurements of blood pressure in all situations, for instance, at times of high stress, while exercising, and sleeping, among others. The tech device can deliver thousands of measurements compared to any devices so far.

In addition, mobile health monitoring has taken major leaps in recent years, mainly because of technology like smartwatches. Such devices use metallic sensors that get readings based on LED light sources shining through the skin.

Nonetheless, leading smartwatches are not ready yet for blood pressure monitoring. That's because such watches slide around on the wrist and might be far from arteries.

As a result, it biomes difficult to deliver blood pressure readings. More so, the light-based measurements can falter in individuals with darker skin tones or larger wrists.

Graphene as Key Ingredient in E-Tattoo

A similar Nanowerk report describes Graphene as one of the most robust, not to mention the thinnest materials available today. It is a key ingredient in e-tattoo. It is akin to graphite in pencils, although the atoms are precisely arranged into thin layers.

E-tattoos make sense as a conveyance for mobile blood pressure monitoring as they reside in a sticky, stretchy material enveloping the sensors or detectors that are comfortable to wear for long periods. It does not slide around, too.

The sensor for this electronic tattoo is weightless, not to mention unobtrusive. A sensor is needed to stay in the same area, explained Jafari, because if one happens to move it around, such measurements will be different.

The device takes measurements by shooting an electrical current into the skin and then assessing the body's response, also called "bioimpedance."

A report about the newly devised wearable electronic tattoo is shown on Science X's YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on Nanotechnology and Heart Health in Science Times.