This Startup Wants to Take Your Blood Pressure With an iPhone

In 1896, Italian physician Riva Rocci published the first of four papers on an invention that is still widely used. It was his take on the sphygmomanometer, a device to measure the pressure that a pumping heart exerts on the arteries. Rocci's basic approach of tying a cuff to the upper arm remains standard, and it is a vital tool because hypertension is one of the most serious medical ailments. The CDC reports that nearly half of all adults in the US have high blood pressure, and it is a primary or contributing factor in 500,000 deaths annually--it's like Covid-19 every year. Only a fourth of people with hypertension have it under control, in part because sphygmomanometers, whether used in a doctor's office or via clunky home units, don't supply a steady stream of readings, multiple times a day and in different settings, to help determine the proper treatment.