Aktiia today announced the first 24-7, automated blood pressure monitoring system that easily and comfortably gathers data during the day and while sleeping. This groundbreaking medical innovation will now provide people and their physicians comprehensive insights into blood pressure patterns that will better inform the diagnosis and management of hypertension. Now available for sale in the United Kingdom, Aktiia has received its CE Mark as a Class IIa medical device - signifying that the device has been assessed to meet high safety, health and environmental protection requirements in Europe.
Millions of people worldwide are at risk for severe health complications and death due to untreated or uncontrolled hypertension. The average person with hypertension measures their blood pressure only once per week due to the inconvenience and discomfort associated with a traditional cuff. Aktiia is the first product to automatically measure blood pressure over the course of hours, days and weeks without any effort required by the wearer. The data is then visualized in a free companion application and can also be shared with a physician or family member to detect concerning blood pressure changes.
The core technology was first developed at CSEM. Aktiia was then founded in 2018 by Dr. Mattia Bertschi and Josep Sola and includes some of the world's leading scientific and technical experts in optical blood pressure monitoring including CTO, Dr. Josep Sola, a pioneer in cuffless blood pressure monitoring and editor of "The Handbook of Cuffless Blo d Pressure Monitoring” - Aktiia has been validated in multiple clinical studies (www.aktiia.com/uk/evidence) across a diverse population of wearers in multiple body positions.
“Hypertension is the #1 cause of cardiovascular disease and premature death worldwide,” said Dr. Neil Poulter, Professor of Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine at Imperial College London. “Accurate blood pressure measurement and particularly 24/7 monitoring of blood pressure is increasingly recognised as being important to improve the diagnosis and control of raised blood pressure, thereby improving patient outcomes. Tracking blood pressure over long periods, without alerting the patient represents a potential game changer in the diagnosis and monitoring of hypertension.”