The Medical Problems
Hypertension Management
Hypertension in adults can lead to adverse cardiovascular events, such as stroke and heart infarct and also to vascular dementia.
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Hypotension might lower blood supply to the vital organs, which can lead to syncope and acute failure of the kidneys and also to cognitive impairment and dementia.
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According to the 2020 International Society of Hypertension Guidelines, systolic hypertension is defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥ 140 mmHg and the targets of SBP are:​
For patients aged below 65 years, the SBP target is < 130 mmHg but ≥ 120 mmHg. For patients aged 65 years or older the target is < 140 mmHg, if tolerated. Individualized blood pressure target is considered according to clinical features.
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Hence:
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an error of 10 mmHg is significant,
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individual management should be considered.
1. The available blood pressure meters have low accuracy:​
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an automatic blood pressure meter can fulfill the demands of most protocols, even though its readings demonstrate error of 10 mmHg or more in 18%​ of the examinations!
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2. Hypertension treatment should be more personalized:
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The present guidelines for management of hypertension consider age and clinical features but not physiological features as provided by PersoVit, that are relevant to hypertension, such as sympathetic activity and arterial stiffness.
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Accurate measurement of blood pressure and measurement of relevant physiological features enable effective management of hypertension.
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The low accuracy of the automatic blood pressure measurement and the insufficient personalization of the hypertension management, clearly contribute to the low adherence of hypertension treatment.
Current Technological Problems
The available pulse oximeters have low accuracy
The error of pulse oximeters is estimated as ±4%, i.e., for oxygen saturation readings of 90% by a pulse oximeter, the actual oxygen saturation is expected to be between 86-94%, with level of confidence of 95%.
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The error of the available pulse oximeters for neonates is greater, which might lead to hypoxemia or hyperoxia (low and high oxygen saturation in arterial blood) that are clinically significant.