Huawei Watch D2: an Airbag to detect hypertension, this technology is a game-changer!

Hypertension, often described as the disease of the century, today affects 17 million people in France. A public health phenomenon, long minimized, whose diagnosis sometimes remains complex.

Among the challenges encountered, the white coat effect causes an increase in blood pressure in the presence of nursing staff, which can distort the results. Conversely, between 10 and 30% of patients suffer from masked hypertension. This means that their blood pressure appears normal at the consultation, but spikes at other times. In this situation, prolonged monitoring outside the doctor's office is necessary to spot irregularities.

Knowing that masked hypertension leads to serious cardiovascular complications such as heart attacks and strokes, it was crucial to develop an effective, non-intrusive diagnostic tool to detect this silent form as quickly as possible. This is where Huawei comes in with its brand new Watch D2 connected watch.

Hypertension, this silent killer

Masked hypertension is often detected outside the traditional medical setting, either by self-measurement at home or via an ambulatory monitoring program, where blood pressure is monitored over 24 hours. Until now, these two methods required the use of bulky and impractical devices, which did not facilitate patient care.

Because people at risk, particularly those whose blood pressure is close to the hypertension threshold without exceeding it, are not always aware of the importance of their situation. They fear the constraints linked to regular medical follow-up, perceived as too intrusive. Especially since hypertension is a silent disease that rarely manifests itself with clear symptoms. In other words, you can be hypertensive without knowing it… until serious complications arise.

This is why the all-new Huawei Watch D2 presents itself as the ideal solution. It provides a real diagnostic tool in the compact and practical format of a connected watch. Above all, it meets the rigorous standards of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), the European Hypertension Society (ESH) and ISO 2018.

The Huawei Watch D2 is one of a kind

For this project, Huawei has given itself the means by partnering with Professor Gregory Stergiou, future president of the International Hypertension Society, in order to develop highly precise measurement technology. Unlike most connected watches which use photo-plethysmography (PPG), an optical method which estimates blood volume, Huawei has opted for a much more reliable technology, recognized by the medical community, a mechanical Airbag, in other words, a pressure cushion.

The latter is integrated directly into the watch strap, and works in collaboration with a mini pump as well as a high-precision pressure sensor. It inflates around the wrist to provide accurate blood pressure readings regardless of location or time of day, whether you're at the office, at home, or even sleeping. The data obtained are all the more relevant as the analysis is carried out without constraints and continuously.

Ten years of research to achieve this technology

Integrating blood pressure measurement technology that was both accurate and compact enough to be worn on the wrist required considerable development time. Huawei began its research in 2015. It was only five years later that a complete prototype, announcing a finalized product, was presented. In total, more than 200 patents related to blood pressure measurement technologies have been filed, not to mention numerous research, clinical trials, user feedback and market analyzes to perfect the product.