Evaluation of the Bluetooth-enabled Scanbo device for point-of-care measurement of blood pressure and blood glucose: A cross-sectional pilot study in an urban slum of Bengaluru.

Background: As non-communicable diseases escalate globally, timely and accurate monitoring of health indicators like blood pressure and blood glucose becomes critical. The Scanbo device, a Bluetooth-enabled point-of-care tool, promises to revolutionise this monitoring by offering quick and reliable measurements. Objectives: To validate the concordance of the results of the Scanbo device compared with the Omron for blood pressure and with the diagnostic lab method for blood sugar. Methods: This observational cross-sectional pilot study was conducted in the urban slum of Vijinapura (Bengaluru) to evaluate the accuracy of the Scanbo device. We enrolled 128 participants for blood pressure assessments and 69 for blood glucose measurement, selecting adults from the community based on predefined criteria. The primary variables measured included systolic and diastolic blood pressures and blood glucose levels, with data collected using both the Scanbo device and standard measurement methods for comparison. Data were recorded and analysed to ensure consistency and reliability. Statistical analyses were performed using Jamovi 2.3.28 solid version (The Jamovi project, 2021, https://www.jamovi.org), employing Bland-Altman plots to assess agreement, Cohen's kappa for inter-rater reliability, and ROC curves to determine diagnostic accuracy. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were also estimated. Results: The Scanbo device showed excellent accuracy in measuring systolic blood pressure (AUC = 0.985) and blood glucose (AUC = 0.973), with substantial agreement in reliability (Cohen's kappa > 0.67 for all measurements). Diastolic blood pressure measurements were also accurate (AUC = 0.924), although slightly less so than systolic measurements. The mean differences between the Scanbo and standard measurements, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were within clinically acceptable limits. Conclusions: The Scanbo device demonstrates a high level of accuracy and reliability comparable to standard methods for systolic and diastolic blood pressure and blood glucose measurements. These findings support the potential integration of the Scanbo device into routine clinical practice, particularly for community health settings and patient self-monitoring.