[Only iPhone] Accutension Stetho - Individual Person Validator for Blood Pressure Monitors - Best with Omron 10, 7, 5 and 3 Series Upper arm Blood Pressure Monitors - Hearing is Believing!

This is an update of my previous review of this product. That review reported that the Accutension Stetho did not work and rated it with one star. But my measurements were incorrect, as I am about to explain. After retesting I am happy to recommend the Accutension Stetho and give it the five stars it deserves. For the first time it offers a trustworthy way to ensure that your blood pressure monitor is telling the truth. The only equivalent way, if available, is with your doctor's assistance and time.After my first review I received a prompt refund and good customer service. The manufacturer and I chose to work together to find the problem, and we have. The product itself was not at fault. The problem was how I was using it. I had my iPhone 6s Plus inside a sturdy Otterbox case, and the case was fooling me! Nothing in the Stetho's instructions or app at that time warned me against using a case.Here's what happened. The Stetho has a tube with an audio plug for the iPhone at its end. Mechanically and visually the plug was all the way into the iPhone. And the iPhone and Stetho acted totally as if it were plugged in--the iPhone's speaker was shut off, the Stetho could hear my voice, and signals were displayed on the app screen when the Omron blood pressure monitor was measuring.In fact, the Stetho microphone was NOT CONNECTED to the iPhone--it was almost, but not quite. Disconnecting an iPhone's speaker but not connecting an external microphone takes mechanical precision, but the Otterbox case just happens to provide it. But why did I think the Stetho was connected and able to send anything to the Accutension app? Because the iPhone's own sensitive microphone was still working. The iPhone itself picked up my voice when I spoke into the Stetho and picked up noise from the Omron's pump when it was measuring. So I thought the Stetho was connected, but it wasn't. It couldn't do what it was supposed to do. That's why my measurements were no good.So let's go back to the beginning. The Accutension Stetho DOES work as claimed. You cannot use it with a case on your iPhone. The latest version of the Accutension app verifies electronically that the Stetho is plugged in. I successfully used that new app with my iPhone 6s Plus to calibrate an Omron "Series 10" BP786N. In six calibrations during two hours, the Omron blood pressure monitor agreed with the Stetho calibration value within 5 mmHg. That was also the conclusion of my doctor when he calibrated my Omron machine using his mercury-column sphygmomanometer.The Accutension Stetho comes neatly packaged in a nice fitted cardboard case along with two adapters you won't need. The one-page instruction sheet is minimal. A video shows only one measurement but it's worth watching. The manufacturer promises improvements to those user guides, but even as they are now, learning to use the Accutension Stetho is not hard. If you want to be sure you are getting accurate blood pressure measurements, this is what you want.

I bought this because I had doubts about an old Omron blood pressure meter, which was reading differently than a newer meter, and differently than side-by-side tests in my Dr's office. This device is highly recommended for those who wish to verify BP measurement accuracy.PLUS:Great customer service, the vendor volunteered and sent at no cost an elastic strap to hold the sound sensor in place--a real convenience.Great sound quality, the sensor works really well to reveal Korotkoff sounds that are used by clinicians in their blood pressure measurements, allowing a cross-check vs. automated home pressure measuring devices.Saving test records allows comparison of test runs and re-checks of BP levels.MINUS:Calibrator provides no check for accuracy of the actual pressure sensor in a home BP device, it inspects only comparative accuracy of the device's automated algorithm in choosing systolic and diastolic numbers vs. the Korotkoff sound standard.The app uses screen space inefficiently, with too much wasted on meter display images, etc. and not enough given to the crucial sound chart. The latter is cramped, very much so on an iPhone vs. iPad. The chart would benefit by rotation to landscape mode, but the app doesn't rotate.All in all, a very useful product for those who seek accuracy and have the patience to learn how to use this tool effectively.

I was really concerned about the accuracy of my digital BP monitor, given that the readings it provided were so variable, and that they were consistently lower than the readings in my doctor's office. Was this due to "white-coat hypertension" or a garbage digital BP monitor? The Accutension Stetho was well worth the investment. It is very easy to use, and the results are clear. In my case, there was close agreement between the Koratkoff sounds detected by this device and the values read out by my automated device (within +/- 2mm Hg). This helped to set my mind at ease. And even if this were not the case, I would be glad to know how much it was off by. It's worth noting that it helps to pay attention to other sounds that may add "noise" to the trace when you're getting a measurement. For example, as the pressure in my cuff changes, there is sometimes a small pop due to a single velcro loop coming undone - this can look a lot like a Koratkoff spike, and that can be a problem if it happens to occur right around the time the actual Koratkoff sounds are happening. But you can watch the sound trace as it records and see these spikes happen, so you just need to make a mental note of when "noise" spikes occur (and external noise is obviously not a problem with the Accutension Stetho device itself). My only complaint is that I did have trouble registering the device at first, but after a hard-reset of my phone, this worked fine. Still, it is a bit annoying that you cannot use it until you've successfully registered the device. Nevertheless, this easily earns 5 stars for a $30 purchase.

First I would like to say this is a great idea and wish it worked for me. I read all the directions. For some reason, I could not get a good connection. It connected a few times as I was trying to figure things out, then would no longer find a connection. I kept getting a cannot connect to stetho, etc. I have an iPad air which I took out of it's case to make sure that was not the problem, triple checked all the connections but still would not connect. I assume it might be that it is defective or it just has a problem with my iPad air. Even so I think this is an excellent idea and would like to thank the founder for inventing it. I definitely do not want to down this product in any way or sway anyone from not purchasing it. I think it is an excellent product, I just could not get it to work with my iPad air. It is being returned.

This equipment does NOT work with the Omron Evolv. It relies on your phone taking a video of the decreasing numbers on the Evolv screen during deflation. The problem is that the Evolv doesn't show the numbers decreasing. The Evolv deflation process is too fast for this method of calibration. In addition, it is very difficult to hold your phone in a position to video the numbers whilst preparing to press the Record button. The equipment did not come with a strap so I had to use tape to keep it in position on the artery. This was not satisfactory and recording of the relevant sounds was very hit and miss. In case I was not using it correctly I tried several times but it was never successful. Sent it straight back. Good idea but doesn't work for the Evolv.

Like it but quite fiddly. Wish they had made the tube a bit longer. I trust my BP monitor more now.

Exactly what I needed!