While blood pressure cuffs are considered the most accurate method of measurement, they require the user to sit down, put on the cuff, and stay still. This can be inconvenient and may lead to errors in measurement if the cuff is not worn properly or if the user does not follow the correct protocol. Researchers are now exploring the use of earbuds as an alternative to blood pressure cuffs for regular blood pressure monitoring at home. The earbuds can simplify this process, eliminate expenses for purchasing a blood pressure cuff, and support regular monitoring of blood pressure for individuals managing heart failure.
Earbuds often feature noise-cancellation technology that employs both an outer and an in-ear microphone. The outer microphone captures ambient noise while the in-ear microphone records sounds within the ear canal. Interestingly, these in-ear microphones can detect internal bodily sounds, including heart sounds. Recent studies have demonstrated that the audio signals obtained from within the body can be used to measure heart rate, similar to a stethoscope. Researchers at the University of Toronto (Toronto, ON, Canada) are now exploring various signal processing techniques to analyze these heart sounds and determine blood pressure levels, with the goal of facilitating regular blood pressure monitoring and supporting self-care for heart failure patients.
To use earbuds for blood pressure monitoring, patients can simply wear them, and the in-ear microphone will record audio and transmit it to their smartphone via Bluetooth. The phone will then analyze the heart sounds and determine blood pressure, which can be shared with the patients or their care team. This technology can be used with any earbud that has an in-ear microphone, provided that the patient is in a quiet environment since heart sounds can be very subtle and easily missed in noisy surroundings. Therefore, the most practical application of this technology would be during telehealth consultations when patients are seated in a quiet indoor environment. Additionally, patients who already own noise-canceling earbuds can use this technology without any additional equipment.
Earbuds have an advantage over smartwatches when it comes to estimating blood pressure. While smartwatches rely on blood flow at a single site, earbuds can offer twice the amount of information by measuring blood flow in both the left and right ear. In addition, some researchers have found that blood pressure can also be estimated by measuring how long it takes for a heart pulse to travel from one location in the body to another. While smartwatches can also estimate blood pressure this way, the short distance between points doesn't allow for much error. Earbuds, on the other hand, offer a much larger distance between points, which can actually make them more accurate than smartwatches.
雖然血壓袖帶被認為是最準確的測量方法，但它們需要用戶坐下，戴上袖帶並保持靜止。如果袖帶未正確佩戴或用戶未遵循正確的協議，這可能會帶來不便並可能導致測量錯誤。研究人員現在正在探索使用耳塞作為血壓袖帶的替代品，以便在家中定期監測血壓。耳塞可以簡化這一過程，消除購買血壓袖帶的費用，並支持定期監測心力衰竭患者的血壓。
耳塞通常具有降噪技術，該技術採用外置和入耳式麥克風。外部麥克風捕捉環境噪音，而入耳式麥克風記錄耳道內的聲音。有趣的是，這些入耳式麥克風可以檢測內部身體聲音，包括心音。最近的研究表明，從體內獲得的音頻信號可用於測量心率，類似於聽診器。多倫多大學（加拿大安大略省多倫多市）的研究人員目前正在探索各種信號處理技術來分析這些心音並確定血壓水平，目的是促進定期血壓監測和支持心力衰竭患者的自我保健。
要使用耳塞進行血壓監測，患者只需戴上耳塞，入耳式麥克風將錄製音頻並通過藍牙將其傳輸到智能手機。然後手機將分析心音並確定血壓，這些數據可以與患者或其護理團隊共享。這項技術可以與任何帶有入耳式麥克風的耳塞一起使用，前提是患者處於安靜的環境中，因為在嘈雜的環境中心音可能非常細微並且很容易被忽略。因此，這項技術最實際的應用是在患者坐在安靜的室內環境中進行遠程醫療諮詢時。此外，已經擁有降噪耳塞的患者無需任何額外設備即可使用該技術。
在估算血壓方面，耳塞式耳機比智能手錶更具優勢。智能手錶依賴於單個部位的血流，而耳塞式耳機可以通過測量左右耳的血流來提供兩倍的信息量。此外，一些研究人員發現，還可以通過測量心臟脈搏從身體的一個部位傳播到另一個部位所需的時間來估算血壓。雖然智能手錶也可以通過這種方式估算血壓，但點與點之間的距離較短，不允許有太大誤差。另一方面，耳塞提供了更大的點與點之間的距離，這實際上可以使它們比智能手錶更準確。
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