Finger clip device to measure blood pressure

The device also measures four additional vital signs simultaneously, namely heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, body temperature and respiratory rate, said Richard Byfield, a mechanical and aerospace engineering graduate student in the MU College of Engineering, and the lead author on the study published in IEEE Sensors Journal.

“Typically, calculating someone’s blood pressure at a hospital or clinic involves using an inflatable cuff wrapped around their arm, but there are three issues with that method - it can cause damage to someone’s arteries if done repeatedly within a short amount of time; people’s blood pressure can rise due to nervousness; and it can take up to 30 seconds to complete,” Byfield said in a statement. “Our device can record someone’s blood pressure within five seconds by using optical sensors placed on the fingertip that measure the amount of light reflected off the blood vessels underneath the surface of the skin.”