Ramakrishna Mukkamala, professor of bioengineering at Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering, is passionate about developing accessible blood pressure (BP) detection tools. Instead of designing a new medical device to monitor BP, Mukkamala decided to take advantage of what is in nearly everyone’s pockets—smartphones—and figure out how to detect blood pressure using sensors already built into them.

“The most significant thing you can do to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease is to lower high blood pressure through lifestyle changes, but in underserved populations, many people don’t have access to blood pressure cuffs, regular doctor’s appointments, or even know it’s a problem,” Mukkamala said. “But they do have smartphones.”