| abstract |
An apparatus and process for automatically measuring systolic, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressure. Two cuffs, one located closer to the heart (proximal) than the second (distal), are provided. Each cuff is attached to a small manifold which has three ports. One port is connected to the cuff, one port is connected to a pressure sensor, and the last port is connected to a valve to a high pressure air source. Throughout blood pressure monitoring, a constant mass of air is maintained within the cuff by inflating the cuff and closing the cuff valve. The sensors are connected to a microcomputer so that the static pressure component and the dynamic pressure component of cuff pressure can be stored and plotted. Mean arterial pressure is read from both distal and proximal cuff sensors. Diastolic blood pressure is determined by recording the proximal static cuff pressure at which a maximum dynamic distal amplitude is observed. Systolic blood pressure is determined by recording the proximal static pressure at which a minimum dynamic distal amplitude is observed. |