article · Informatics in Medicine Unlocked
Preeclampsia remains a primary driver of maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide, presenting ongoing challenges for antenatal management. To support rapid intervention, an ambulatory monitoring system was developed to track blood pressure continuously over twenty-four hours using a smartwatch connected to a mobile and cloud-based application. When an expectant mother records a blood pressure measurement, the system transmits real-time data and delivers an automated alert to an assigned caregiver's smartphone. Designed using a rapid prototyping method, the architecture was evaluated through an experimental study involving thirty expectant mothers across two level 5 hospitals in Kenya. Testing confirmed that the solution successfully captured readings and relayed caregiver alerts. With its simple design and affordability, the system demonstrated strong potential for real-world adoption within healthcare facilities across developing countries.
Preeclampsia contributes substantially to maternal illness and mortality worldwide. Automated, wearable-based monitoring enables prompt detection of blood pressure changes, helping clinicians take fast remedial action. Deploying simple, low-cost digital health solutions directly into antenatal workflows supports international targets to curb maternal deaths, particularly in resource-constrained health environments where timely clinical interventions are vital.
The platform enables continuous remote monitoring for antenatal caregivers and expectant mothers. It is an applied and tested prototype evaluated with thirty hospital patients in Kenya. The abstract indicates a clear target user base of healthcare providers in developing nations, but further formal clinical validation and regulatory preparation would be necessary before full market deployment.
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The burden of preeclampsia has been a major concern worldwide both in developed and developing countries, making its prevention and management a major concern. Although motherhood is a fulfilling experience in society, it is connected to ill-health in some women, leading to maternal morbidity and mortality. The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 aims to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births. These deaths are caused by among other things, the emergence of conditions such as preeclampsia during pregnancy. Therefore, this study sought to implement a 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring solution for preeclampsia management, using a smartwatch in conjunction with a mobile and cloud-based application. Upon blood pressure readings from the expectant mother, an alert is sent to the assigned caregiver in order to initiate quick action. The researchers adopted a rapid prototyping approach in the implementation of the 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring system. An experimental design was adopted in the study to evaluate whether the system functionalities performed as expected. The system, which was evaluated in the context of a sample of 30 expectant mothers from two level 5 hospitals in Kenya, has been able to read blood pressure from expectant mothers' smartwatches. The real-time data is then sent to the caregivers’ smartphone, as well as an alert. The solution has shown great potential for actual adoption in healthcare systems in developing countries, given its simplicity and affordability. Keywords: Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring systems, Antenatal care, Internet of Things, Maternal care, Preeclampsia
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DOI: 10.1016/j.imu.2019.100199
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