As chronic heart failure remains a leading cause of death in the U.S., medical device companies continue to release innovative products to help people better manage the disease.
This week, the FDA granted clearance to one of these new innovative devices: Withings’ BPM Pro 2 cellular blood pressure monitor. The device — which France-based Withings originally released in October — is designed to help providers scale remote patient monitoring for heart failure patients.
Historically, providers addressed hypertension mainly through medication, and they adjusted these dosages based on a blood pressure reading taken once a year during an office visit, pointed out Antoine Robiliard, who leads Withings’ health solutions division.
It took the industry a while to realize that this is not an accurate or efficient way to monitor and manage patients’ blood pressure, he noted.
“Thankfully, the industry started to leverage monitoring at home to better treat hypertension, but it came with challenges. How do you entice the patient to take their measurement, and how do you actually get data that you can rely on?” Robiliard said.
The BPM Pro 2 device seeks to address this problem by allowing clinicians to program contextual questions — which can be asked directly on the device when a patient is using it at home.
These questions help care teams gather information about medication adherence, Robiliard stated.
“Care teams would love to know if patients are actually taking their medication,” he remarked. “One of the biggest problems with hypertension is this: because it has very [few] visible symptoms for patients, they tend to not care. Half of the population in the U.S. who are affected by hypertension just don’t know about it, and the people who have hypertension have a tendency to not follow their medication.”
In addition to gathering data about patients’ medication adherence, the BPM Pro 2 also collects information about users’ symptoms.
This means care teams spend less time reaching out to patients and asking them about their symptoms — which is an important feature given the current workforce shortage plaguing many provider organizations, Robiliard noted.
“[The BPM Pro 2] makes it easier to monitor more patients on a per nurse basis, allowing them to spend more quality time with their patient and actually manage their condition. Today, they spend too much time just asking questions — they don’t have enough time to intervene and then coach them and drive behavior changes,” he said.
Robiliard also pointed out that Withing’s device has features to ensure better measurement accuracy. For example, the monitor detects anomalies and sends automated follow-up messages that prompt users to retake their measurement.
The device also reminds users to schedule appointments with their provider, Robiliard added.
The new monitor will be available for purchase in the U.S. on January 1, he stated.
Photo: ismagilov, Getty Images
