Home Reviews ,,,,,A connected blood pressure monitor: it is AirBP, a very special solution that we have had the opportunity to try in recent days that allows the whole family to measure systolic and diastolic pressure values in a few seconds.
It is a kind of hybrid as it combines the practicality of the classic manual blood pressure monitor with the latest technologies, thanks to the connection via Bluetooth to iOS or Android smartphones and tablets that allows you to view the data on the screen, automatically archive them on a medical record. digital and facilitate the sharing of measurements via email or Whatsapp.
Packaging
It is also necessary to mention only briefly the sales package, as it is not the classic box to throw away but it is a real case to be put aside. Made of sturdy cardboard with a rather anonymous gray color, it is rigid enough to adequately protect the contents but above all it is characterized by a magnetic opening that facilitates access.
How AirBP is made
The meter does not differ much from those of the manual type. It has the band that is fixed around the arm (the indications on correct positioning are shown both in the manual and printed on the band itself) connected to a tube at the end of which there is the classic pump for inflation accompanied by the button for rapid deflation .
The only difference with its ancestor is in the presence of an electronic brain along the tube that replaces the analog gauge.
All the secret of AirBP is concentrated here, in a cylinder of a few centimeters covered with a solid structure in brushed aluminum. There is a single button for switching on, flanked by an LED indicator to know the connection status of the device to the smartphone.
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How does it work
It is in fact necessary to connect it via Bluetooth to the phone with the appropriate AirBP app (available for iOS and Android) in order to use it. The connection is practically instantaneous: the app starts and it will automatically recognize the device – previously turned on – by connecting to it with a single click.
At this point all that remains is to press the virtual “Start” button and follow the instructions on the screen. They are in English but easy to understand. A “Start pumping” signals us to start inflating the armrest by squeezing the pump with the hand of the free arm until a “Stop pumping” invites us to stop the inflation. From here, the gradual release of air will bring the measurement to completion: a few seconds of waiting and the minimum and maximum will appear on the screen accompanied by the measurement of the heart rate.
The app
The application has a rather basic and easy to consult graphical interface. There are 3 tabs: through the first, Measure, you start a new measurement while with the third, called About, you can update the firmware, connect the app to Apple's Health and little else.
The most interesting tab is the middle one, called History and which actually allows you to access the history of previous measurements. In fact, here all the measurements taken with the device are stored and for each it is possible to assign the name of the user: in this way you can keep the pressure of the whole family or an entire healthcare facility under control, being able to easily group the measurements of each individual user by applying a filter to the list.
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How is it going
The blood pressure monitor performs well. We have not had the opportunity to compare it with another similar device so it remains difficult for us to be able to judge the correctness of the measured values, however the fact that it is manufactured and distributed by a company that deals only with medical devices should be a sufficient guarantee of reliability. .
What we prefer to discuss is its use in everyday life. We liked AirBP first of all because it is really easy to use: it connects to the smartphone in an instant, the measurement takes a few tens of seconds and is within everyone's reach. It can keep hundreds of measurements in memory and with a single charge the battery promises more than a thousand.
In short, the idea is very good but we believe it can be improved in several respects. First of all, although its lack is a choice probably justified by the need to make the meter as Smart as possible, the pressure gauge can still work especially when used in healthcare environments. In fact, we believe that a nurse may find it much more practical to be able to read the systolic and diastolic pressure values on the fly with the aid of a stethoscope and perhaps exploit the connectivity of AirBP to store all the data on the smartphone and consult them at a later time.
In the same way, the home user could simply use a small screen integrated on the electronic brain of the meter to read the measurement values on the fly, which could be stored inside and subsequently transferred via Bluetooth to the application. Here the smartphone is mandatory in order for the meter to work and when the phone is empty or not available, we have an unfortunately unusable object in our hands.
We also believe that there is ample room for improvement from the software development point of view. In addition to the Italian translation, necessary for those in our latitudes who do not chew languages other than their own, it might be worth adding some more functions, such as sharing – with a single click – all the measurements made on the same. subject within a day or a defined time period (at the moment only single measurements can be shared).
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Conclusions
AirBP is however a valid instrument and among its advantages there is certainly the presence of a reduced number of parts – and therefore less wear or need for assistance over time – compared to a completely electronic meter, its extreme portability (easily enters the pocket of a lab coat) and if nothing else the pleasure of being able to manually manage part of the measurement process.
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Retail price
AirBP is on sale on IppocrateShop at the price of 50 euros + VAT.
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