A project that integrates an innovative blood pressure measurement software with an open-access mobile patient record and decision-support software platform has won a Grand Challenges award that will help enable its testing in low- and middle-income countries.

The project, which is under the technical lead of the UNDP/UNFPA/UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP) will enable healthcare workers to take the blood pressure of a pregnant woman using just the camera on their smartphone and, together with other health information, apply algorithms based on the latest WHO antenatal care clinical guidance, to provide recommendations for the woman’s care.

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy including pre-eclampsia and eclampsia are a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide, yet can be mitigated through routine monitoring and management of blood pressure during pregnancy.

Despite blood pressure assessment being an essential part of antenatal care services, the ability to measure regularly and easily with a functioning device, recognize elevated numbers, and provide referral when warranted remain important barriers to reducing these morbidities.

Open Smart Register Platform (OpenSRP) is a WHO-supported open-source mobile longitudinal patient record and decision-support software system for frontline workers designed for Ministries of Health, which integrates with national-level digital health information systems. The antenatal care module incorporates evidence-based algorithms from WHO guidelines for decision support on antenatal care.

OptiBP™, developed by Biospectal in partnership with the Swiss Centre for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM), is a cuffless blood measurement software that uses the built in smartphone camera to measure blood pressure at the fingertip easily and quickly, overcoming the inconvenience and lack of access to traditional BP cuffs, as well as dependencies on additional hardware.