Contactless Radar Blood Pressure Validation

Overview

The goal of this observational study is to learn how accurately blood pressure can be measured using a contactless radar device. The main questions the study aims to answer are: 1. how does blood pressure measured using radar compare with blood pressure using a cuff in patients with known high blood pressure? 2. how does blood pressure measured using radar compare with invasive blood pressure during a coronary angiogram? 3. can the radar blood pressure machine be used to measure blood pressuring during an MRI scan of the heart? 4. can the radar blood pressure machine be used to measure blood pressure during exercise? Participants in this study will have the following tests: Group 1: blood pressure measured with the radar device and a cuff when resting Group 2: blood pressure measured with the radar device and by placing a small tube inside the arteries of the wrist (during a clinical procedure) Group 3: blood pressure measured with the radar device and a cuff during a cardiac MRI scan Group 4: blood pressure measured with the radar device and a cuff during exercise

High blood pressure is the biggest risk factor for heart attacks and strokes. There are several machines available for measuring blood pressure, but most of them need to contact the skin causing discomfort from the inflatable cuff or risking the transmission of infections from reusing cuffs. There are also situations where the cuff machines are inaccurate, such as in older people or during exercise. Therefore, the investigators are trying to develop an accurate contactless system for measuring blood pressure. The investigators have used advanced but safe radar to create a small machine with a camera that can measure blood pressure from a distance without the need to contact the participant's skin anywhere. It works by detecting tiny movements and changes on the skin produced from the heartbeat and pulse that cannot be seen with the human eye. The investigators want to study how accurate our radar blood pressure machine is by comparing it to other traditional methods of measuring blood pressure. Firstly, radar blood pressure will be compared to auscultatory blood pressure (a blood pressure system using a cuff) in a group of 25 participants at rest attending a specialist blood pressure clinic. This is currently the internationally recommended method for validating new blood pressure devices. Then radar blood pressure will be compared with invasive blood pressure (measured inside the arteries by a small tube) in 50 participants undergoing clinically-indicated cardiac catheterisation at the Royal Free Hospital. Next a radar device capable of measuring blood pressure in participants lying inside the cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) scanner will be developed. The radar blood pressure derived in the CMR scanner will be compared to oscillometric blood pressure in 25 participants (a cuff-based BP system that is currently used in patients being scanned). Finally, radar-BP will be compared with oscillometric BP in 50 participants during exercise including sit-to-stand movements and using a bike ergometer.