Sit still, smile and shoot – smiling is optional.This is basically all health insurance members, patients and customers of other businesses using the new expanded technology Binah.ai It needs to be done to get a blood pressure reading.
The Tel Aviv, Israel-based company, which also has offices in Japan, the United Arab Emirates and the United States, makes contactless, video-based blood pressure measurement technology available to businesses. The feature expands its health data platform and is available for most smartphones, tablets or laptops. The technique uses an optical technique called photoplethysmography (PPG) to analyze light reflected off of bare skin on a person’s face. Advanced artificial intelligence and sophisticated algorithms are used to process the light signal and return readings without the need for finger clips, cuffs or other hardware.
Like most low-tech home blood pressure cuffs, Binah.ai’s technology has not yet been FDA-approved. David Maman, co-founder and CEO of Binah.ai, said the company is taking initial steps to seek regulatory approval, but he does not expect approval this year.
Based on the company’s own testing of the device on 260 patients, the technology was within 11 standard deviations (so it could be 11 points higher or lower) of systolic blood pressure (the highest number) and 8 standards of accuracy for diastolic blood pressure. Poor pressure, Maman said. Over the past six months, the test has been conducted at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, Israel’s largest hospital, and several other clinical settings. Results have not yet been published.
A blood pressure monitor must be accurate within 12 standard deviations of systolic blood pressure and/or 8 standard deviations of diastolic blood pressure to be considered accurate enough for home use, based on Common Criteria for Validating EquipmentHowever, Binah.ai is ramping up efforts to improve the technology so that the readings are within six standard deviations, or accurate enough for clinical use, and Maman is optimistic that will happen soon. “We’ll be there within the next six months,” he said.
The company says its AI-powered non-contact blood pressure measurement technology is a first of its kind, extending non-contact, video-based monitoring of other vital signs, from heart rate and heart rate variability to breathing rate and oxygen saturation. Measurement. Ultimately, despite the significant investment of time and money, Maman said the company’s goal is to gain medical approval for all of its vital signs measurement technology.
Some studies have called into question the usefulness of home blood pressure monitoring devices, such as Study in 2017 Published in the American Journal of Hypertension. But even in the past five years, things have improved.One Study in the UK in 2020 It was concluded that physicians can have confidence in a patient’s home blood pressure monitor if it is validated and used for less than five years. It is increasingly common for doctors to recommend that patients have their blood pressure checked regularly not only in a clinical setting, but also at home, especially if they have or are at risk for high blood pressure.
Hardware-free, contactless technology promises to make it easier for people to take blood pressure readings and deliver them to healthcare providers. But the ease-of-use market is not limited to contactless PPG technology. Wearables, from the Apple Watch to NASA-grade medical-grade technology such as those from Ejenta, allow consumers to get instant clinical information at home and share it with their doctors.
As for contactless blood pressure readings, like Binai’s technology, improvements are still being made — and need to achieve clinical accuracy, not to mention consumer-grade accuracy demonstrated through published research.Now, as the researchers point out in an article 2021 Review, there are insufficient published studies to properly evaluate non-contact blood pressure monitors.
But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a market.
Binah.ai has rolled out contactless BP monitoring to complement its health data platform to some existing clients, including South Africa’s large insurer Momentum and Europe’s Generale. They also made it available to several organizations in the U.S., including two telehealth, a corporate health, and a laptop maker, Maman said. He declined to name the companies.
For customers buying technology from Binah.ai, the cost depends on scale. For a company rolling it out to 10,000 people, it’s about $30 per user per year, and for an organization rolling it out to 100,000 people, it’s $12 per user per year, Maman said. He added that the company offered one of Asia’s largest insurers, which he declined to be named, at about $1 per user per year, serving 50 million users.
Given the home vital signs monitoring market, there is considerable pressure to improve the technology. Binah.ai takes great pains Explain how it keeps customer data private, while optimizing usability — the company says its PPG technology works on all skin tones — and improving accuracy. “Ultimately, it all boils down to three things,” Maman said, “accuracy — most important; usability; and privacy.”
Photo: yongyuan, Getty Images
