For many people, a key part of their personal health management routine involves monitoring their blood pressure and weight. Frequently going to get one's blood pressure measured at a pharmacy or clinic, however, can be a hassle. Well, to paraphrase an advertising slogan, "there's an app for that" - along with a device. The iHealth Blood Pressure Monitoring System for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad consists of a blood pressure arm cuff wired to a portable dock, along with the free iHealth app, which users run on their chosen iDevice to keep track of their systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate. They will also soon be able to throw their weight data into the mix, with the iHealth Scale.
The Blood Pressure Monitoring System is used by patients in their own home, although given that the dock has an integrated rechargeable lithium-ion battery, it can also be used on the go. Users place their iDevice in the dock (which additionally serves as a charger), where data is uploaded from the cuff.
From there, the app takes over. It translates the cuff's data into onscreen figures, tracking changes in blood pressure through interactive graphs, and summarizing each user's statistics by time, date, and World Health Organization classification. Results can also be emailed to physicians or family members.
A similar product exists in the form of the MDMouse, which measures the user's blood pressure via a finger cuff.
While the Blood Pressure Monitoring System can already be purchased from the company website for US$99.95, we recently spied the yet-to-be-released iHealth Scale at IFA 2011. It consists of a standard step-on digital scale, that wirelessly sends data via Bluetooth to the user's iDevice. There, the iHealth Scale app displays the results, and keeps track of them in log and graph formats. Users can also use the app to set weight loss goals, and send their results on by email.
The iHealth Scale runs on four AAA batteries, and records weight in kilograms, pounds and stone. Pricing and availability have yet to be announced.