Auralife Instant Blood Pressure App in Measuring Resting Heart Rate: Validation Study

Background: mHealth apps that measure heart rate using pulse photoplethysmography (PPG) are classified as class II (moderate-risk) Food and Drug Administration devices; therefore, these devices need clinical validation prior to public release. The Auralife Instant Blood Pressure app (AuraLife IBP app) is an mHealth app that measures blood pressure inaccurately based on a previous validation study. Its ability to measure heart rate has not been previously reported. Objective: The objective of our study was to assess the accuracy and precision of the AuraLife IBP app in measuring heart rate. Methods: We enrolled 85 adults from ambulatory clinics. Two measurements were obtained using the AuraLife IBP app, and 2 other measurements were achieved with a oscillometric device. The order of devices was randomized. Accuracy was assessed by calculating the relative and absolute mean differences between heart rate measurements obtained using each AuraLife IBP app and an average of both standard heart rate measurements. Precision was assessed by calculating the relative and absolute mean differences between individual measurements in the pair for each device. Results: The relative and absolute mean (SD) differences between the devices were 1.1 (3.5) and 2.8 (2.4) beats per minute (BPM), respectively. Meanwhile, the within-device relative and absolute mean differences, respectively, were <0.1 (2.2) and 1.7 (1.4) BPM for the standard device and −0.1 (3.2) and 2.2 (2.3) BPM for the AuraLife IBP app. Conclusions: The AuraLife IBP app had a high degree of accuracy and precision in the measurement of heart rate. This supports the use of PPG technology in smartphones for monitoring resting heart rate. (JMIR Biomed Eng 2018;3(1):e11057) doi: 10.2196/11057