Microsoft is likely building a new wearable to help its users measure their blood pressure, according to a patent application reviewed by MSPoweruser.
The patent describes a set of wearable sensors mounted on eyeglasses that would continuously measure and store a user's pulse waves from three different regions of their face. Inertial sensors and a processing unit would then compare the pulse waves to obtain the user's pulse transit time — or the time it takes for blood to be pumped out of the heart to reach the three facial sites — which could be used to help monitor the user's systolic blood pressure.
Microsoft has recently made several advances in healthcare, including its flagship initiative Healthcare NExT that is exploring various artificial intelligence and cloud computing projects for health.
The company hopes to use this latest patent to create a blood pressure capture device that doesn't need user input, according to MSPoweruser. It might lead to a more "socially-acceptable" blood pressure monitor, as it would be able to take blood pressure readings without interrupting users from regular activities.