Investigation Of Sex Differences Between Withings Body Cardio And SphygmoCor Applanation Technology

Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a widely utilized measure of cardiovascular health as a reflection of arterial stiffness. There is an emerging technology revolution to assess health with mobile monitors. The Nokia Health platform includes the Body Cardio scale that is designed to bring this diagnostic tool into homes. The scale detects pulse transit times via a proprietary algorithm, yet males and females differ in regional distribution of body mass. However, no device has been tested against laboratory gold standards and sex differences have never been elucidated. The purpose of our study was to validate the Body Cardio scale for analysis of PWV compared to laboratory gold standards (SphygmoCor, AtCor Medical). We hypothesized that the mobile version would give greater variability, lending to increased error. METHODS: 20 normotensive, college-aged individuals utilized the Body Cardio scale in a laboratory to obtain PWV measurements, each followed by standing PWV measurements with SphygmoCor. RESULTS: Nokia underestimated PWV in males by 0.703 and 0.653 in females; this is a statistically insignificant value. CONCLUSION: The ability of the Nokia Body Cardio to measure PWV at home lends great healthcare significance and can lead to a wider scope of information for an individual’s physician.