West China Hospital Licenses Wearable Blood Pressure Monitoring Patent for RMB 301,000

Recently, West China Hospital of Sichuan University released a public notice on the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, proposing to transfer them through negotiated pricing.“A Wearable Blood Pressure Monitoring Device and Method for Blood Pressure Monitoring”Transfer of relevant patents to industry partners, with pricing determined by agreementRMB 301,000。

This patent innovatively integrates the smart glasses form factor with multi-arterial sensing technology, specifically addressing the core pain points of traditional blood pressure monitoring—namely, “limited scenarios, fragmented data, and cumbersome operation”—and provides an innovative solution for the management of chronic diseases such as hypertension that is “all-weather, non-intrusive, and high-precision.”

The assignee is a wearable device company, and this collaboration will provide solid support for the transition of patented technologies from the laboratory to practical applications.

As a “barometer” of cardiovascular health, continuous and accurate blood pressure monitoring is of paramount importance for the prevention and control of hypertension and for early warning of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular complications. According to data from the Chinese Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Hypertension (2023 Edition), the prevalence of hypertension among individuals aged 18 years and older in China has reached as high as23.2%, with the number of patients exceeding330 millionAmong them, the proportion of high-risk populations requiring long-term blood pressure monitoring (such as patients with comorbid diabetes, kidney disease, or coronary heart disease) is quite high.

However, current mainstream blood pressure monitoring methods continue to struggle to strike a balance between “accuracy” and “convenience,” which has become a prominent bottleneck in chronic disease management.

Currently, widely used in clinical and home settingsCuff-Based Oscillometric Measurement Device, while offering the advantages of affordability and ease of use, it suffers from significant structural drawbacks.

First, the scenario adaptability is suboptimal.During measurement, the inflatable cuff must be worn properly, and each measurement takes a considerable amount of time. This method is only suitable for static settings such as homes and medical institutions, failing to meet the needs of dynamic scenarios like commuting, working, and exercising, thereby making out-of-home monitoring challenging.

Second, the monitoring model is relatively fragmented.The device is recommended for use 1–2 times per day. It can only capture blood pressure readings at fixed time points, making it difficult to reflect the circadian rhythm fluctuations of blood pressure. Its monitoring capabilities have limitations for special types of hypertension, such as nocturnal hypertension and paroxysmal hypertension, which hinders physicians from obtaining comprehensive blood pressure data and may compromise the precision of diagnostic and treatment planning.

Third, it is highly operator-dependent.Factors such as the tightness of cuff application and measurement posture can affect data accuracy, and measurement deviations are prone to occur when operated by non-professionals.

With the widespread adoption of wearable devices,Non-invasive Monitoring Technology Based on Pulse Transit Time (PTT)has become a breakthrough direction for the industry. However, existing related products still have obvious shortcomings.

One category comprises wristband- and bracelet-style devices, with sensors positioned over the peripheral arteries of the limbs. While these devices offer a degree of convenience, they are susceptible to interference from limb movement and the tightness of fit. Furthermore, prolonged wear may restrict limb mobility.

Another category comprises head-worn wearable devices, such as smart glasses, which offer the advantages of being lightweight and unobtrusive. However, most products currently on the market focus on consumer-grade applications like VR/AR interaction and eye-tracking, with minimal involvement in the collection of medical-grade biosignals. Their sensing accuracy and algorithm design are insufficient to meet the clinical requirements for blood pressure monitoring.

Furthermore, some wearable blood pressure monitoring products adopt a “single-site sensing” design, which results in suboptimal signal stability and further undermines the credibility of the data.

In response to the industry's challenges, the team broke through the traditional mindset of "limb sensing" and innovatively proposed“Triple-Artery Head Collaborative Sensing + Intelligent Noise Filtering + Personalized Calibration Model”technical solution, achieving multi-dimensional optimization from hardware design to algorithmic logic.

The core design of this patent lies inDesign wearable devices in the form of everyday glasses, and achieve precise sensor layout through ergonomic optimization.PPG (photoplethysmography) sensors are installed at the nose pads to align with the angular artery; pressure sensors are mounted on the inner side of the temple arms to target the superficial temporal artery; and another set of PPG sensors is embedded at the ends of the ear hooks to fit against the posterior auricular artery. All three arteries are located in the head, thereby avoiding the susceptibility to motion artifacts that commonly affects peripheral arteries in the limbs.

In terms of scenario adaptability,Traditional cuff-based devices are only suitable for stationary settings such as homes and medical institutions, making them ill-suited for dynamic scenarios. Although existing wristband- and bracelet-style wearable devices can accommodate some dynamic scenarios, they remain constrained by limb movements. The eyeglass-style design disclosed in this patent covers a wide range of scenarios, including home, work, and exercise environments, enabling monitoring without the need for additional user intervention.

In terms of monitoring mode,Traditional cuff-based devices employ intermittent monitoring, allowing only 1–2 measurements per day; while some current wearable devices enable semi-continuous monitoring, they are prone to interference-induced interruptions. This patented technology supports all-day continuous monitoring and automatically completes data acquisition without manual intervention.

Addressing the scene limitations of traditional monitoring devices and the insufficient stability of existing wearable products, this patented technology from West China Hospital of Sichuan University has been specifically optimized for all-scenario adaptability, 24/7 continuous monitoring, and an unobtrusive wearing experience, precisely resolving the long-standing supply-demand mismatch in the field of blood pressure monitoring.

These technological advantages precisely meet the core demands arising from the growing number of patients with common conditions in daily life, public health management, long-term monitoring of chronic disease populations, and data collection in medical scenarios. With the widespread improvement in hypertension awareness, medical-grade wearable blood pressure monitoring technologies that combine convenience and reliability are gradually unleashing strong market demand.

Amid the industry trends toward intelligent chronic disease management and the portability of medical devices, wearable blood pressure monitoring technology, by virtue of its"Non-invasive, continuous, and convenient"core advantages have become the research focus and innovation frontier in the global medical technology field. Domestic and international universities, research institutions, and enterprises are all centered around“Enhancing Monitoring Precision, Optimizing Wearability, and Expanding Scenario Adaptability”Continuous efforts have been made to tackle these three core objectives, resulting in a diversified and complementary landscape for technological research and development.

Stanford University School of Medicine TeamDevelopedEar Canal Blood Pressure Monitoring Sensor, leveraging the fixed position and stable signal of the arteries within the ear canal, miniature PPG sensors are employed to acquire pulse wave signals, with algorithms applied to optimize signal processing.

Team from the Department of Precision Instruments, Tsinghua UniversityDevelopedFlexible Patch-Type Wearable Monitoring Device, utilizes ultra-thin flexible materials to conform to the carotid artery and enhances data quality through multimodal sensor fusion (PPG + ultrasound); the device is currently in the early-stage clinical testing phase.

The Research Team at the MIT Media LabLaunchedNon-Contact Wearable Blood Pressure Monitoring Solution Based on Millimeter-Wave Radar. This solution leverages millimeter-wave sensors integrated into eyeglasses or headphones to monitor minute displacements caused by arterial pulsations, thereby indirectly inferring changes in blood pressure. As this approach requires no direct skin contact, it further enhances wearing convenience.

In China,Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of MedicineCo-developed with enterprisesWrist-Worn Blood Pressure Monitoring Device, introduces a dynamic calibration algorithm for the arterial elasticity coefficient to perform personalized optimization based on the vascular characteristics of users across different age groups.

These technologies focus on enhancing the accuracy, convenience, and scenario adaptability of wearable blood pressure monitoring, driving the field’s upgrade from “consumer-grade” to “medical-grade.” In the future, with the deep integration of sensing technology, artificial intelligence algorithms, and ergonomic design, wearable blood pressure monitoring devices are expected to achieve“More precise numerical monitoring, smarter anomaly alerts, and more seamless scenario adaptation”. This will not only provide more comprehensive support for individual health management but also achieve deep integration with telemedicine and cloud-based platforms for chronic disease management, thereby building a full-chain health service system covering “monitoring – diagnosis – intervention – follow-up.”