Apple has filed for another patent (number US 20230063813 A) for an “ambulatory blood pressure cuff.” It It suggests the tech giant is considering devices beyond the Apple Watch that integrate with its Health app.
About the patent filing
The patent filing related to ambulatory blood pressure cuffs that can be worn around a limb of a user to, periodically or continuously, measure a blood pressure of the user during daily activities of the user. A user may measure blood pressure by attaching a blood pressure measurement device to one of their limbs. The blood pressure measurement device may include an inextensible cuff that secures an inflatable bladder against a limb of the user.
The inflatable bladder can be expanded, and the inextensible cuff may cause the bladder to compress the limb, thereby compressing one or more blood vessels in the limb and restricting and/or stopping (i.e., occluding) blood flow through the vessels. The various pressures in the inflatable bladder that restrict and/or stop blood flow through the vessels in the limb may be measured and used to determine the blood pressure of the user.
A blood pressure measurement device including a blood pressure cuff is typically worn during measurement of a blood pressure, and is removed promptly thereafter. However, Apple says that, in some cases, it might be desirable to wear the monitoring device for longer periods of time such that physiological measurements can be performed periodically or continuously.
Summary of the patent filing
Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent filing: “Embodiments of this disclosure are directed to a wearable blood pressure measurement device having an inner sleeve and a cuff module. The inner sleeve is wearable on a limb of a user and has a first attachment mechanism. The cuff module has a second attachment mechanism that is attachable to the first attachment mechanism.
“The cuff module includes a cuff configured for placement over the inner sleeve, a bladder assembly having one or more bladders configured to expand and contract in response to a flow of a fluid therethrough, and a controller. The controller is configured to measure a blood pressure of the user while controlling expansion and contraction of the one or more bladders.”
