Withings recently released their Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor, a device that works with both Android and iPhone devices. I was given the chance to review the slick blood pressure cuff to see how comfortable it is, how the app works, and whether this is really the niftiest BP meter out there.
Appearance and Design
I did not know blood pressure cuffs could be hip and modern until I came across the Withings Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor. It looks trendy and is anything but awkward to operate. The design is contemporary without compromising comfort, and naturally intuitive in its look and operation.
Setup
Unlike conventional blood pressure cuffs, the Withings BP Monitor is permanently in a rigid cylindrical form that allows the user to easily slip their arm through. Downloading the free Withings Healthmate App takes a few more minutes to setup and get running. Once the Bluetooth connection is made (which involves a few steps) you control the BP monitor exclusively from the app.
Use
I tested the cuff using the Android version of the app, and was pleased with the layout of data and overall app design. It is fairly easy to take a measurement and see longitudinal trends in blood pressure and heart rate taken by the device. You may also separately take measurements for others, or add your BP measurements taken elsewhere such as at a doctor’s visit. Sending this information as a report was a great feature that is a good step toward enabling this device to aid healthcare providers in managing patients that need to be monitored.
Conclusion
Having an easy to use blood pressure monitor can help improve compliance of patients that should be taking regular readings. The Withings Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor is stylish and moderately priced, intuitive to use, and is kind of fun compared to drug store models. The additional advantage of Withings is that combined with data collected by its other products, in a single graph you can visualize readings from their smart scale, activity tracker, and sleep monitor combined with the blood pressure readings from this device. Emailing such data to your doctor is easy and shows a real step toward the type of medical management that will conceivably be ubiquitous in the future.
Tech Specs
- Fits arm circumferences 9 to 17 in
- BP measurement range: 0 to 285 mmHg (accuracy: ±3 mmHg or 2% of reading)
- Weight: 1.3 lbs (without batteries)
- Runs on 4 AAA batteries, already inserted when shipped
- The Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor bears the CE mark as proved compliant with European medical device regulations and has clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the USA.