Aktiia SA raised $42 million in an oversubscribed series B funding round and rebranded to Hilo. The funds will be used for product innovation, expansion into new markets and to build out its blood pressure monitoring platform to support enterprise use cases.
A new position paper from the International Society of Hypertension pinpoints the benefits and drawbacks of novel blood pressure management technology, including the latest cuff-based and cuffless and wearable devices like BP-measuring watches and rings.
Aktiia SA’s wrist-worn, continuous blood pressure monitor, which has been in use in the EU since 2021, could soon be coming to the U.S. The Aktiia bracelet uses photoplethysmography, the technology perhaps best known for providing blood oxygenation readings via pulse oximeters, and an algorithm based on thousands of readings to estimate blood pressure as wearers go about their daily activities.
Aktiia SA’s cuff-less blood pressure monitor – a connected optical system for continuous monitoring – has launched in Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, U.K. and Switzerland. Aktiia’s monitor is a bracelet that includes a photoplethysmography sensor with a silicon diode receptor capable of measuring the pulse to within an accuracy of ±5 beats per minute, a communication module and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery.
