In July 2021, we wrote about Biobeat’s continuous blood pressure monitor for clinic and home use. We met with Biobeat at CES 2022 via video call. Consumers can now order the Biobeat 24BP Kit for $99 with free shipping included. The price for the kit will be $149 after an unspecified introductory period.

The Biobeat 24BP kit includes a smart patch and an instruction manual. The patch is a disposable, single-use chest monitor capable of continuous ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) for 24 hours. According to Biobeat, the chest monitor measures diastolic and systolic blood pressure, heart rate, mean arterial pressure, cardiac output, and systemic vascular resistance. Onboard sensors transmit data to a smartphone app where the data is accessible to patients and their care teams.

After you receive a 24BP Kit, the first step is to download the 24BP app. The smartphone app is compatible with most iOS and Android OS phones. The next step is to calibrate the 24BP chest patch with a standard blood pressure cuff. Once those first steps are complete, you attach the patch to your chest and wear it for 24 hours. After 24 hours, you can view, print, and send a full blood pressure report.

The 24BP is FDA cleared for measuring blood pressure as substantially equivalent to other products legally on the market, so that’s not in question. The only study that compares PPG-based testing with standard cuff–based testing that we’ve seen to date is one published in Nature in 2020.

The study in Nature reported “We found 96.31% agreement in identifying hypertension and an Interclass Correlation Coefficient of 0.99 and 0.97 for systolic and diastolic measurements, respectively.” The Biobeat technology blood pressure readings did appear to substantially correlate with cuff-based testing, but more testing is in order with a longer-term study.

The introductory $99 price for the 24BP Kit is reasonable for an occasional measurement, but would get expensive if frequent testing is required. It’s noteworthy that home users also must have an approved cuff-based device on hand to calibrate the 24BP Kit and also that users must also use a smartphone for the software to work. Both of those requirements could rule out elderly persons or other people without funds to acquire or the know-how to use a cuff reader and a smartphone.