Blood pressure is a key metric of cardiovascular health, but standard methods for measuring it rely on occasional readings using inflatable cuffs, usually in a clinical setting. Today’s blood pressure monitors are bulky, uncomfortable and only give readings while you’re sitting still.

Now, an interdisciplinary team of mathematicians and engineers from the University of Utah and the University of Illinois, Chicago, is tackling this challenge by combining physics and artificial intelligence to overcome some of the limitations of existing devices. Published in Nature Communications, their study describes a new wearable smartwatch that can measure both blood pressure and blood flow continuously without needing a cuff.