Genuine free to use app for BP monitoring

UnsureAboutthis

Hey

I've been looking on and off for about a week.

The above apps that claim to be "free" are not

I have an iPhone.

Are there any decent, genuine, free-to-use apps. Just
of the basic type, but need to be relatively accurate.

Grumpy_chap

What type of sensor do the apps use to detect your blood pressure?

UnsureAboutthis

Grumpy_chap said:

What type of sensor do the apps use to detect your blood pressure?

the cam....

RetiredTaz

You are highly unlikely to get any app using the camera to accurately measure your blood pressure. I just would not trust them.

oldernonethewiser

How does the camera measure blood pressure?

Rhetorical question.

PHK

I've only seen apps that measure heart rate with the camera?

UnsureAboutthis

RetiredTaz said:

You are highly unlikely to get any app using the camera to accurately measure your blood pressure. I just would not trust them.

Indeed. My goal is to get an approx idea as sat/walk/diy/etc. I have one of those branded machines that docs use
for a bit of accuracy.

UnsureAboutthis

oldernonethewiser said:

How does the camera measure blood pressure?

Rhetorical question.

I was educated  (how bp apps operate) when  I investigated BP apps/free to use apps.

Some apps need a separate device. However, some use the cam lens, and you press your finger
against it.
I have a free app for heartbeat that works the same way. The heartbeat app is very accurate
as I've compared it with the branded oxygen sensor we bought during the height of coronavirus.


I've seen a few apps which claim to be "free" but not even the basic functions are free, other than a few-day trial.


I wait in anticipation of your help, and conclusion with this subject.. 

t0rt0ise

Your hearbeat, that is your pulse is easy enough to feel for yourself so no app needed. Blood Pressure needs a cuff in order to measure it. You can't do so with a finger, it's just not possible.

Grumpy_chap

UnsureAboutthis said:

oldernonethewiser said:

How does the camera measure blood pressure?

Rhetorical question.

I was educated  (how bp apps operate) when  I investigated BP apps/free to use apps.

Some apps need a separate device. However, some use the cam lens, and you press your finger
against it.
I have a free app for heartbeat that works the same way. The heartbeat app is very accurate
as I've compared it with the branded oxygen sensor we bought during the height of coronavirus.


I've seen a few apps which claim to be "free" but not even the basic functions are free, other than a few-day trial.


I wait in anticipation of your help, and conclusion with this subject.. 

I remain intrigued to understand how the camera can monitor blood pressure.  If it was that simple, I would have expected the metric to be standard within activity trackers and I do not believe it is.

For blood pressure monitoring, you really need a device with a cuff.  Omron make a range of consumer devices, typically around £20-£30 from a local pharmacy.  Other brands are available.

What health metrics do you particularly wish to monitor?
Do you have a particular reason for wishing to monitor your health metrics?

You could consider a budget fitness tracker and most of these include an app to track your health metrics such as heart rate (pulse), saturated O2, etc.

flaneurs_lobster

Grumpy_chap said:

UnsureAboutthis said:

oldernonethewiser said:

How does the camera measure blood pressure?

Rhetorical question.

I was educated  (how bp apps operate) when  I investigated BP apps/free to use apps.

Some apps need a separate device. However, some use the cam lens, and you press your finger
against it.
I have a free app for heartbeat that works the same way. The heartbeat app is very accurate
as I've compared it with the branded oxygen sensor we bought during the height of coronavirus.


I've seen a few apps which claim to be "free" but not even the basic functions are free, other than a few-day trial.


I wait in anticipation of your help, and conclusion with this subject.. 

I remain intrigued to understand how the camera can monitor blood pressure.  If it was that simple, I would have expected the metric to be standard within activity trackers and I do not believe it is.

For blood pressure monitoring, you really need a device with a cuff.  Omron make a range of consumer devices, typically around £20-£30 from a local pharmacy.  Other brands are available.

What health metrics do you particularly wish to monitor?
Do you have a particular reason for wishing to monitor your health metrics?

You could consider a budget fitness tracker and most of these include an app to track your health metrics such as heart rate (pulse), saturated O2, etc.

There are no devices that can measure blood pressure directly using just a camera. There are wearables like the Galaxy and Apple watches that can give a good indications about changes to blood pressure (using optical sensors for blood flow/heart rate + algorithms).

It's telling that the Galaxy watch blood pressure monitoring functionality (which requires calibrating monthly with a conventional BP measuring device) cannot (officially) be made available in the US because the FDA. Apple have very recently had functionality alerting wearers about hypertension approved on their latest watches.

Not surprisingly, the devices are festooned with warnings about not using such BP monitoring for diagnostic or medical reasons, the only legitimate use appears to be for fun and amusement!