Convenient Blood Pressure Measurement from the Fingertip

Blood pressure is typically measured on the upper arm, using a cuff and a meter attached to it. However, the process is inconvenient and only gives snapshot information about the blood pressure at that exact moment. Instead, a finger-mounted sensor could monitor the subject’s blood pressure almost imperceptibly, for example, overnight. This way, instead of a snapshot measurement result, the blood pressure profile of a person over a longer time could be obtained.

“In medical technology, blood pressure measurement is like the Holy Grail. It is related to the research of a great number of things and provides an understanding of many illnesses and deaths. With the help of the device we have developed, the measurement is painless and made as imperceptibly as possible. During the night, the human body is in its most relaxed state, so long-term measurements are not disturbed by a number of external factors,” says Tuukka Panula, Doctoral Researcher, describing the novel measuring device. Panula built the first prototype all by himself, but several people from the University of Turku have been involved in the design and implementation of the improved version currently used.

In 2023, the Instrumentarium Science Foundation awarded Panula with a grant of €5,000 for writing his doctoral thesis.

Clinical trials have been conducted

Panula graduated from the University of Turku as a Master of Science in Technology in 2019. Already while completing his undergraduate degree, he ended up working with health technology and blood pressure measurement. As a graduate student and doctoral researcher, Panula’s knowledge of the subject has expanded, and his work has been supported by the Turku University Hospital, among others.

“All the clinical trials related to our research have been completed, even though COVID-19 slowed the process down. Carrying out measurements at hospitals was difficult during the pandemic. My doctoral thesis is now nearing completion and I intend to submit it for preliminary examination before the end of 2023. The defending will have to take place in 2024,” Panula says.

The goal is to measure several things from a single fingertip

All doctors and nurses (and many patients) are familiar with a sensor for oxygen saturation measurement, which is placed on the patient’s fingertip. The device developed by Panula has a similar sensor; in the future, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and heart rate measurements are to be combined with this sensor.

“I intend to apply for further funding for the research project and would like to like continue my academic career as a researcher working in this field. The device will definitely not be gathering dust in a drawer, as we are already looking into options for commercialisation, for example, in co-operation with Business Finland,” Panula assures.

The grant kept the researcher alive in London

Business Finland had already funded the project at an earlier time. Panula is a hired researcher at the Graduate School of the University of Turku, which has made it possible to work full-time as a researcher. However, the Instrumentarium Science Foundation’s grant was gravely needed.

“To a certain extent, the grant kept me alive when I spent half a year in London on a research exchange in connection with the writing of my thesis. Accommodation and living in London are really expensive, so me and my girlfriend were almost penniless while staying there. Nevertheless, the experience was nice and rewarding,” Panula recalls.

Panula ended up applying for a grant from the Instrumentarium Science Foundation on the suggestion of a colleague. During his career as a researcher, he has looked into many different funding options and considers the encouragement grant available for his thesis very useful.

“Few foundations grant encouragement grants to salaried doctoral researchers. From the viewpoint of my stay in London, I’m glad that the Instrumentarium Science Foundation operates this way.”

Text: Kai Tarkka / Viestintäpalvelu Taika Oy
Picture: Tuukka Panula