| abstract |
Calibrated method characterizing blood flow in a patient's limb during reactive hyperemia episode utilizes a blood pressure cuff, establishes a predetermined, near diastolic, pressure in the cuff during the episode, continually senses the pressure cuff and periodically changes the internal volume of the cuff by a predetermined volumetric amount to calibrate the system with a calibration pressure pulse. The method may determine the condition of blood vessels and endothelium by determining, for each calibration cycle, a blood volume peak and comparing the peak with peak volume values for healthy blood vessels and endothelium (potentially waveform analysis). The method, implemented as a system, inflates, during pre-test, the cuff to a suprasystolic pressure, and establishes the near diastolic pressure in the cuff during the episode. A sensor generates a pressure signal and a subsystem periodically changes the volume during calibration such that a corrected and calibrated blood volume signal is calculated. |