Sensor-based system for verifying blood-pressure measurement position
report
Abstract
Mobile maternal-health programs send workers door to door to visit pregnant women in rural India and collect data such as blood pressure or weight, then send that data to doctors for review. Since the doctors do not see the data collection, ensuring correct collection methods is crucial to allow them to make good treatment decisions. However, blood-pressure measurements are sometimes taken with the patient's arm in the wrong position, which can cause inaccurate readings. This paper describes a system consisting of an automatic blood pressure cuff with an accelerometer and force sensors attached to determine whether the arm is at the correct angle, held still, and properly supported. A user study indicated that the prototype was effective in helping untrained users take a measurement in the correct position.