Imagine taking a selfie and using it for your health. New technology may allow for just such a use.
A recent study tested a smartphone-based technology that takes a short video of your face and then provides a blood pressure reading.
According to Harvard Health, researchers took two-minute videos of 1,328 Chinese and Canadian adults. Using an iPhone equipped with transdermal optical imaging, the software measures blood pressure by detecting blood flow changes in a person's face.
When compared to readings taken using a traditional blood pressure cuff, the video blood pressure readings were about 95 percent accurate.
Researchers made the videos in a controlled environment with good lighting, so it's unclear how the technology will perform in the real world. Additionally, although the study volunteers had a variety of skin tones, none had extremely fair or extremely dark skin, and most had normal blood pressure.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.