New research finds selfies may be good for more than just boosting your confidence or showing off your post-workout success. In a new study, scientists from the University of Toronto figured out how to accurately measure blood pressure using a cellphone’s camera by developing a technology called transdermal optical imaging (TOI).
According to the study, sensors on smartphones can “capture red light reflected from hemoglobin under our skin, which permits TOI to visualize and measure blood flow changes.” Using this technology, researchers were able to measure the blood pressure of 1,328 people from a two-minute video of their faces on an iPhone.
“From the video captured by the technology, you can see how the blood flows in different parts of the face and through this ebb and flow of blood in the face, you can get a lot of information,” explains lead study author Kang Lee. More research will be needed to make sure the measurements are as accurate as possible and this study didn’t test people with very dark or very fair skin. But eventually, this technology could be used to help provide medical services for people living in remote, rural areas.
Source: New York Post