Project description
Small portable device for real-time blood pressure monitoring
Blood pressure measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats and when it rests, and it is conventionally monitored using manually operated or automatic sphygmomanometers. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, negatively impacts the function of the heart and increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. The EU-funded Finger Port project aims to address the unmet need for the easy and convenient monitoring of blood pressure in real time or frequently during the day. Researchers have developed a small portable device that encompasses a ring-shaped sensor to measure blood pressure via a person’s finger. The Finger Port device can be linked to any smartphone, allowing end users and doctors immediate access to patient data.
Objective
There are approximately 50M people in Europe who are affected by cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Among such diseases, high blood pressure (BP) is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. The global prevalence of high BP in adults aged 18 years and over was around 24.1% in men and 20.1% in women in 2015. The golden standard methods for measuring cardiovascular parameters are arm cuff-based devices such as manually operated sphygmomanometers or automatic arm/wrist oscillometric devices. They are obtrusive, inaccurate, require frequent calibration and they have limited measurement capabilities. Therefore, there is a significant unmet need for portable and minimally invasive devices that allow multiple measurements and real-time tracking of cardiovascular markers. Elfi-Tech is introducing the Finger Port system, designed to address such needs and provide real-time alerts to doctors and users, regarding their health conditions, through a downloadable software application. The device can be secured to any other device (like a smartphone) and the user has only to put his/her finger inside the ring-shaped sensor to measure and track cardiovascular and health conditions. The quick procedure of Finger Port’s unique technology allows end-users and doctors to have easy access to health data without any need for in person meetings (thus saving time and mobility costs for end-users). Finger Port has also already obtained ISO 9001:2015. During the feasibility assessment, a go-to-market strategy and a supply chain will be established, as well as further development plan will be drafted. Elfi-Tech will upgrade hardware and software components of the Finger Port system, extending the measurements to markers of stress level and sleep quality during the second phase of innovation project. Multiple clinical trials with more than 100 subjects will be then initiated at Meir Hospital, Israel for obtaining the CE mark as a medical device.
Fields of science
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicinecardiologycardiovascular diseases
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencespersonalized medicine
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringinformation engineeringtelecommunicationsmobile phones
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencessoftwaresoftware applications
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
7670503 REHOVOT
Israel
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.