Skin-mounted electronic patch on a fingertip (representational image) National Institutes of Health.
According to the World Health Organization, high blood pressure affects more than 1.3 billion people around the globe, yet only about one in five manage it effectively.
The condition, often called a “silent killer,” raises the risk of heart disease, stroke, and other serious health problems. Regular monitoring is crucial, but the devices in common use fall short.
Conventional cuff-based monitors are bulky, require inflation, and give only one-time readings. They can be uncomfortable for daily wear and may produce inaccurate results if placed incorrectly or used when the patient is stressed.
Such limitations make it difficult to track blood pressure continuously during normal activities, exercise, or sleep.
A research team from Seoul National University (SNU) believes it has an answer.
Led by Professor Seung Hwan Ko of the Wearable Soft Electronics Lab in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the group has developed a soft, skin-mounted electronic patch that can track blood pressure in real time.
The patch attaches to the skin like a bandage and measures blood pressure using a different principle than cuffs.
It records the slight delay between electrical signals from the heart, which arrive at the wrist almost instantly, and the mechanical pulse, which arrives a fraction later as blood is pushed through arteries.
The wearable device’s working principle and key features for real-time continuous blood pressure monitoring. Credit – Advanced Functional Materials
The delay shortens when blood pressure rises and lengthens when it falls.
Capturing these subtle skin movements required a highly sensitive, flexible sensor. The team turned to liquid metal, which stays fluid at room temperature, conducts electricity well, and has elasticity similar to skin.
However, its high surface tension makes it hard to shape into precise circuits.
To overcome this, the researchers used “laser sintering,” a process that fuses liquid metal particles together with a laser beam.
This allowed them to draw fine, flexible circuits exactly where needed without additional chemicals.
Durable and accurate
The finished patch can stretch up to seven times its original length and endure more than 10,000 stretching cycles without losing performance.
In tests, it accurately tracked rapid changes in blood pressure before and after exercise, performing better than a standard cuff.
Ko says the work challenges the idea that blood pressure should only be measured once a day in a clinical setting. He believes the technology can be adapted for intensive care monitoring, workplace safety, and personal health tracking.
The patch could be particularly useful for patients with hypertension, enabling them to track their condition anytime and anywhere.
It could also help athletes and fitness enthusiasts by monitoring how blood pressure responds to training.
Co–first authors Jung Jae Park and Sangwoo Hong are working on integrating the patch with new materials, wireless communication, and AI-driven analysis.
The goal is to make the technology more practical and widely accessible.
SNU expects the innovation to accelerate the shift toward smart healthcare, where people can prevent disease and manage their health in everyday life rather than relying solely on hospital visits.
The study is published in the journal Advanced Materials.
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