title: Low-cost, email-based system for self blood pressure monitoring at home.
abstract: We have developed a low-cost monitoring system, which allows subjects to send blood pressure (BP) data obtained at home to health-care professionals by email. The system consists of a wrist BP monitor and a personal computer (PC) with an Internet connection. The wrist BP monitor includes an advanced positioning sensor to verify that the wrist is placed properly at heart level. Subjects at home can self-measure their BP every day, automatically transfer the BP data to their PC each week, and then send a comma-separated values (CSV) file to their health-care professional by email. In a feasibility study, 10 subjects used the system for a mean period of 207 days (SD 149). The mean percent achievement of measurement in the 10 subjects was 84% (SD 12). There was a seasonal variation in systolic and diastolic BP, which was inversely correlated with temperature. Eight of the 10 subjects evaluated the system favourably. The results of the present study demonstrate the feasibility of our email-based system for self-monitoring of blood pressure. Its low cost means that it may have widespread application in future home telecare studies.
authors.affiliation: Division of Bio-Information Engineering, Toyama University, Toyama, Japan. kazuki@eng.toyama-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kazuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nambu
authors.forename: Tohru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kiryu
authors.forename: Toshiyo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tamura
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sasaki
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000379:methods*; D034742:Electronic Mail; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D012621:Seasons; D012648:Self Care; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000592:standards*; D013696:Temperature