Fitbit patent hints at smart ring & smartwatch for blood pressure tracking
Fitbit isn’t giving up on blood pressure tracking, and its latest patent gives us another peek at how it might make it happen. Published by the US Patent and Trademark Office a few days ago, patent no. 12,239,424 B2 was submitted alongside Google, its parent company. It lays out plans for a wearable loaded with biometric sensors. This could be a smartwatch or even a smart ring.
What the patent actually says
Fitbit’s latest filing goes into a lot of detail about how its device could measure blood pressure. The mix of pressure sensors and optical sensors would be embedded in a smartwatch or possibly a ring or band to track changes in blood flow and artery stiffness. Instead of relying on a single method, Fitbit seems to be experimenting with multiple ways to improve accuracy, which is one of the biggest hurdles for cuffless blood pressure monitoring.
One key aspect of the patent is how the device applies and measures pressure. The filing describes a system where sensors press against the skin and detect small mechanical changes caused by blood moving through the arteries. This could work alongside PPG photoplethysmography sensors, which use light to measure blood flow. The patent mentions combining these readings with machine learning algorithms to improve accuracy.
Adjustable pressure might be part of the design. The patent suggests that Fitbit’s wearable could use inflatable or mechanically controlled elements to apply pressure to the skin, similar to how a blood pressure cuff works—but on a much smaller scale. This would allow the device to gather more detailed data without needing an inflatable cuff like the ones used in traditional blood pressure monitors.
Not Fitbit’s first go at this
Fitbit has been chasing non-invasive blood pressure tracking for a while, and this isn’t the first patent the company has filed in this space. Over the years, Fitbit has patented various methods for measuring blood pressure without a cuff, but so far, nothing has made it into a commercial product.
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One of the more recent patents, which we covered last year, focused on using Pulse Arrival Time. This method estimates blood pressure by measuring the time it takes for a pulse wave to travel through the body. The idea is that as blood pressure changes, the speed of these waves also changes.
Will this actually show up in a Fitbit watch
Fitbit’s research in this area has been promising over the years, but nothing so far has shown up in a real-world product. So the wait continues for a convenient blood pressure tracking solution.
Right now, there’s no way to know if or when Fitbit will bring this tech to its smartwatches. Companies file patents all the time, and not all of them turn into real products. However, the fact that Fitbit keeps filing patents on blood pressure tracking suggests they’re serious about cracking the problem.
What’s particularly interesting is a mention of a smart ring. With Samsung and Zepp Health recently stepping into this space, Fitbit might be next in line.
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