# Development of a smartphone-based device to detect fluid overload among postpartum women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy

> **NIH NIH R21** · MAGEE-WOMEN'S RES INST AND FOUNDATION · 2022 · $151,455

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy contribute to a significant proportion of maternal morbidity
and mortality and are the most common reason for hospital readmission postpartum. While
treatment of hypertension is the cornerstone of postpartum management, emerging evidence
suggests that implementation of robust remote blood pressure monitoring and treatment
programs alone do not reduce maternal morbidity or hospital readmissions related to
postpartum fluid overload and heart failure symptoms. The ability to predict which women will
develop these complications and pursue more aggressive treatment with diuresis prior to
hospital discharge or in the first week postpartum is limited. The overall goal of this line of
research is to develop and implement a convenient congestion prediction device for home use
in conjunction with home blood pressure monitoring in a postpartum population following a
hypertensive disorder of pregnancy. In this application, the objective is to develop and test a
smartphone-based device to predict fluid overload in patients with preeclampsia through three
specific aims: 1) to build multiple smartphone-based devices to assess volume status via a
congestion prediction index in postpartum women with preeclampsia, 2) to collect patient
training data with the devices, optimize their accuracy in assessing volume status, and identify
and create the final real-time device and 3) to validate the final device prospectively in response
to known fluid changes among a new cohort of postpartum women with preeclampsia. The
research proposed in this application is innovative in its novel adaptation of evidence-based
approaches to fluid assessment in heart failure patients to an understudied postpartum
population with significant morbidity, its use of a smartphone form factor and the design and the
proposed testing of multiple devices to optimize effectiveness and convenience. This proposal is
significant as it will provide an opportunity to develop and assess the feasibility of smartphone-
based assessment of fluid status among postpartum women with preeclampsia. Effective
interventions to improve postpartum hypertension care coupled with innovative remote
strategies have broad implications for improving maternal morbidity and reducing disparities in
care. Our findings will provide a valuable framework to inform a future randomized trial of
remote assessment and management of fluid status in the postpartum period. Successful
completion of this line of research would represent a transformation in postpartum management
of women with preeclampsia and have a direct impact to improve hypertension and
cardiovascular-related maternal morbidity and mortality.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10437610
- **Project number:** 5R21EB031515-02
- **Recipient organization:** MAGEE-WOMEN'S RES INST AND FOUNDATION
- **Principal Investigator:** Alisse Hauspurg
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $151,455
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-07-01 → 2024-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10437610

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10437610, Development of a smartphone-based device to detect fluid overload among postpartum women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (5R21EB031515-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10437610. Licensed CC0.

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