CN114615929A

CN114615929A - Continuous non-invasive blood pressure measuring device

Info

Publication number: CN114615929A
Application number: CN202080074565.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: B·W·埃克斯罗德; A·H·西蒙斯
Original assignee: Edwards Lifesciences Corp
Current assignee: Edwards Lifesciences Corp
Priority date: 2019-12-16
Filing date: 2020-12-09
Publication date: 2022-06-10
Also published as: EP4076165A1; WO2021126615A1

Abstract

A blood pressure measuring device for measuring a blood pressure of a patient from an arm of the patient is disclosed. The blood pressure measurement device may include an outer brachial arm cuff mountable about a patient handle to determine discrete absolute Blood Pressure (BP) measurements from a brachial artery of a patient; and a sensor mountable near the outer brachial arm cuff to measure a continuous pulsatile waveform from the brachial artery of the patient. The discrete absolute blood pressure measurements are combined with a measured continuous pulsatile waveform for Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) beat-to-beat Blood Pressure (BP) tracking at the brachial location to provide continuous beat-to-beat non-invasive blood pressure monitoring.

Description

Continuous non-invasive blood pressure measuring device

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/948,458 filed on 12, 16, 2019, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Background

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present invention relate to non-invasive blood pressure measurement. More particularly, embodiments relate to an external brachial arm cuff and sensor that combines discrete absolute blood pressure measurements with a measured continuous pulsatile waveform for Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) Blood Pressure (BP) tracking to provide continuous beat-to-beat non-invasive blood pressure monitoring.

Related Art

In general, absolute non-invasive blood pressure measurements are typically made using an external cuff that applies pressure to one or more arteries and observes the response of the arteries to determine the patient's blood pressure. Auscultatory and oscillometric blood pressure cuffs typically use this technique to obtain discrete (non-continuous) blood pressure measurements. However, there are also disadvantages to applying pressure to the patient's arteries. For example, the large pressures required for auscultation and oscillometric techniques are uncomfortable. Thus, the use of these techniques is generally limited to taking measurements every 3-5 minutes.

"Cuff-less" blood pressure measurement techniques have been developed that do not require the application of external forces to the artery or require very low forces. Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) techniques acquire arterial pulse waveforms, extract amplitude and timing features, and track the variation of these features over time in relation to the variation of blood pressure over time, which is the most successful cuff-free blood pressure measurement technique category. Examples of PWA techniques include the photoplethysmography technique developed by Centre Suisse d' Electron technique et de Microtechnique (CSEM). However, these techniques do not allow absolute blood pressure values to be obtained for tracking changes.

Although the brachial artery is the most common location for absolute BP measurement, PWA techniques applied to pulsatile waveforms obtained at the brachial artery have not been used to aid continuous blood pressure measurement.

Disclosure of Invention

In one example, a blood pressure measurement device for measuring a blood pressure of a patient from an arm of the patient is disclosed. The blood pressure measuring device may include: an outer brachial arm cuff mountable around an arm of a patient to determine discrete absolute Blood Pressure (BP) measurements from a brachial artery of the patient; and a sensor mountable near the outer brachial arm cuff to measure a continuous pulsatile waveform of the brachial artery of the patient. The discrete absolute blood pressure measurements can be combined with a measured continuous pulsatile waveform for Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) beat-to-beat Blood Pressure (BP) tracking at the brachial location to provide continuous beat-to-beat non-invasive blood pressure monitoring.

In one optional example, the sensor may be a flexible pressure sensor to measure arterial pulsation via surface pressure caused by motion of the brachial artery of the patient. In another optional example, the sensor may be a strain sensor to measure arterial pulsation through strain induced by motion of the brachial artery of the patient. As an optional example, the outer brachial arm cuff may be an oscillometric cuff. Further, as an optional example, absolute blood pressure measurements include systolic pressure, Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP), and diastolic pressure. Further, the brachial location may be approximately at the cardiac level, thereby eliminating the need to compensate for hydrostatic changes. As an additional optional example, the continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring is displayed on a display device. It should be understood that the optional examples may be used independently of one another or in combination with one another.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a blood pressure measurement device measuring a patient's blood pressure from a patient's arm according to one example.

FIG. 2 is a view of a blood pressure measurement device attached to a patient's arm to measure a patient's blood pressure from the patient's arm, according to one example.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method for continuously monitoring a patient's blood pressure according to one example.

Fig. 4 is a waveform diagram illustrating a continuous pulsatile waveform of a brachial artery of a patient according to one example.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing discrete absolute blood pressure measurements combined with obtained beat waveforms for Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) Blood Pressure (BP) tracking to provide continuous beat-to-beat non-invasive blood pressure monitoring, according to an example.

Detailed Description

Various examples and aspects of the disclosure will be described with reference to details discussed below, and the accompanying drawings will illustrate the various examples. The following description and drawings are illustrative of the present disclosure and are not to be construed as limiting the present disclosure. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of various examples of the disclosure. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order to provide a concise discussion of examples of the present disclosure.

Reference in the specification to an example or an optional example means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the example may be included in at least one example of the present disclosure. The appearances of the phrase example or optional example in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same example.

Examples of the disclosure may relate to: a sensor that obtains a pulsatile waveform for Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) Blood Pressure (BP) tracking at the brachial location is combined with a conventional oscillometric brachial cuff. This is beneficial because it can combine absolute blood pressure measurement and tracking into a single device. Further, this type of implementation of a conventional oscillometric brachial arm cuff in combination with sensors provides a form factor that is easily understood and accepted in suitable medical environments (e.g., hospitals and other healthcare environments). Furthermore, the brachial position is at cardiac level and does not require compensation for hydrostatic changes. In particular, examples of the present disclosure relate to combining a sensor (e.g., a flexible pressure or strain sensor) that obtains a pulsatile waveform from which changes in Blood Pressure (BP) can be tracked using PWA (pulse wave analysis) techniques with a conventional external oscillometric brachial cuff that measures discrete absolute blood pressure measurements from which changes can be tracked. As an example, a flexible pressure sensor or strain sensor is fitted to the subject's arm against the brachial artery. The sensor can measure brachial artery pulsation by measuring surface pressure or strain caused by arterial motion in the arm. It should be understood that some examples may be used independently of each other or in combination with each other.

Referring to FIG. 1, in one example, a diagram of a blood pressure measurement device 100 for measuring a patient's blood pressure from a patient's arm is disclosed. The blood pressure measuring device 100 may include: an outer brachial arm cuff 102 mountable around a patient's arm to determine discrete absolute Blood Pressure (BP) measurements from the patient's brachial artery; and a sensor 104 mountable near the outer brachial arm cuff to measure a continuous pulsatile waveform from the brachial artery of the patient. The discrete absolute blood pressure measurements may be combined with the measured continuous pulse waveform from the sensor 104 for Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) Blood Pressure (BP) beat-to-beat tracking at the brachial location to provide continuous beat-to-beat non-invasive blood pressure monitoring.

Further, in one optional example, the blood pressure measurement device 100 can include an outer brachial arm cuff 102 that can be mounted around the arm of the patient; a sensor 104 mountable near the outer brachial arm cuff; a display device 120; a memory 107; and a processor 106 coupled to a memory 107. The processor may process the data to: determining a discrete absolute Blood Pressure (BP) measurement from a brachial artery of a patient by an outer brachial arm cuff 102; measuring, by the sensor 104, a continuous pulsatile waveform from the brachial artery of the patient; combining discrete absolute blood pressure measurements with measured continuous pulsatile waveforms for Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) Blood Pressure (BP) tracking to determine continuous beat-to-beat non-invasive blood pressure values; and the continuous beat-to-beat non-invasive blood pressure values are displayed on the display device 120. As an optional example, the wireless or wired interface 108 may transmit the continuous beat-to-beat non-invasive blood pressure values for display on the display device 120. Thus, a continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring may be displayed on the display device 120.

In one optional example, the sensor 104 may be a flexible pressure sensor to measure arterial pulsation from surface pressure on the patient's skin caused by movement of the patient's brachial artery. In another optional example, the sensor 104 may be a strain sensor to measure arterial pulsation via strain induced on the patient's skin by the motion of the patient's brachial artery. As an optional example, the outer brachial arm cuff 102 can be an oscillometric cuff. As another optional example, the outer brachial arm cuff 102 can be an auscultation cuff. Further, as an optional example, absolute blood pressure measurements may include systolic pressure, Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP), and diastolic pressure. Furthermore, the brachial location at which the cuff and sensor are located can be at approximately cardiac level, so that there is no need to compensate for hydrostatic changes. Also, as already described, the continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring may be displayed on the display device 120.

In one example, with additional reference to FIG. 2, a view of blood pressure measurement device 100 attached to patient arm 130 to measure a patient's blood pressure from patient arm 130 is shown. As already described, the blood pressure measuring apparatus 100 may include: an outer brachial arm cuff 102 mountable about a patient's arm 130 to determine discrete absolute Blood Pressure (BP) measurements from a patient's brachial artery 140; a sensor 104 mountable near the outer brachial arm cuff 102 to measure a continuous pulsatile waveform from the brachial artery of the patient. Discrete absolute blood pressure measurements can be combined with measured continuous pulsatile waveforms for Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) Blood Pressure (BP) beat-to-beat tracking at the brachial location to provide continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring.

In this example, as shown in fig. 2, the outer brachial arm cuff 102 can be placed around the upper arm 132 of the patient. The external brachial arm cuff 102 can be of a conventional shape-generally circular and conical, with a cavity to accommodate the patient's arm 130. The outer brachial arm cuff 102 can include the components (e.g., pneumatic elements, pressure sensors, etc.) necessary for conventional oscillometric blood pressure measurements. Arm cuffs for performing oscillometric blood pressure measurements are well known in the art. However, as another optional example, the outer brachial arm cuff 102 can be an auscultation cuff.

As seen in fig. 2, in this optional example, the outer brachial arm cuff 102 can be wrapped around the patient's upper arm 132. The external brachial oscillometric arm cuff 102 can be used to measure discrete absolute blood pressure (e.g., systolic pressure, diastolic pressure, Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP), etc.) from the brachial artery 140. Further, the sensor 104 may be mounted on the inner arm 134 of the patient. The sensor 104 may be a flexible pressure sensor or a strain gauge sensor. A flexible pressure sensor 104 or strain sensor 104 may be used to obtain a pulsatile waveform from the brachial artery 140. The sensor 104 may be fitted to the inner arm 134 of the patient against the brachial artery 140. The sensor 104 may measure the pulsation of the brachial artery 140. As an optional example, in a flexible pressure sensor implementation, the flexible pressure sensor 104 can measure the surface pressure of the inner arm 134 through the motion of the brachial artery 140. As another optional example, in a strain sensor implementation, the strain sensor 104 may measure strain caused by motion of the brachial artery 140 within the inner arm 134. In particular, a flexible pressure or strain sensor may measure a continuous pulsatile waveform. As will be described in greater detail below, discrete absolute blood pressure measurements from the outer brachial arm cuff 102 can be combined with the pulsatile waveform obtained from the sensor 104 for Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) Blood Pressure (BP) tracking at the brachial location to provide continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring. Further, the brachial position can be at approximately cardiac level 145, so that no compensation for hydrostatic changes is required.

It should be appreciated that although a flexible pressure sensor or strain sensor is provided as an example of a sensor 104 that may be used, it should be appreciated that any suitable digital or analog sensor may be used to perform the previously described functions. By way of example, any suitable type of electronic pressure sensor, electromagnetic pressure sensor, mechanical pressure sensor, capacitive pressure sensor, optical pressure sensor, piezoelectric pressure sensor, strain gauge pressure sensor, piezoresistive strain gauge pressure sensor, or the like, may be used, these being merely examples. Thus, it should be understood that optional examples (e.g., flexible pressure sensors, strain sensors, or other types of sensors) may be used independently of one another or in combination with one another.

Further, it should be appreciated that the sensor 104 may be coupled to the outer brachial arm cuff 102 by a connection line 150 so that the arm cuff and sensor can be connected to the patient in a suitably simple manner and with suitable form factors so as to be simply connectable to the patient by medical personnel in a medical environment or by any user (e.g., a personal home user). In this way, the blood pressure measuring device 100 including both the arm cuff 102 and the sensor 104 is an easy-to-use product. However, this is only one example of the type of connection between the arm cuff 102 and the sensor 104. The arm cuff 102 and the sensor 104 may be connected by any suitable means, such as flexible polymers (natural or synthetic), plastics, metals, combinations thereof, VELCRO, adhesives, mechanical methods, etc., or by any suitable means to keep the arm cuff 102 and the sensor 104 connected together. However, in other optional examples, the arm cuff 102 and the sensor 104 may each be separately connected to the patient's arm 130 and not physically connected to each other. Moreover, the sensor 104 and arm cuff 102 may be wirelessly connected to each other and/or to other local or remote computing devices by suitable electromagnetic signal transmission mechanisms for processing the pulsatile waveform obtained from the sensor 104 for Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) Blood Pressure (BP) tracking at the brachial artery location to provide continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring, as will be described in more detail below. Thus, it should be understood that the optional examples may be used independently of one another or in combination with one another.

Referring briefly additionally to fig. 3, fig. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an optional example method 300. As shown in FIG. 3, a method of continuously monitoring the blood pressure of a patient is shown. In method step 310, a discrete absolute Blood Pressure (BP) measurement is determined from the patient's brachial artery by the outer brachial arm cuff. In method step 320, a continuous pulsatile waveform of the brachial artery of the patient from the sensor is measured. At method step 330, the discrete absolute blood pressure measurements are combined with a measured continuous pulsatile waveform for Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) beat-to-beat Blood Pressure (BP) tracking at the brachial location to provide continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring.

With additional reference to fig. 4 and 5, examples of the present disclosure involving discrete absolute blood pressure measurements in combination with measured continuous pulsatile waveforms for Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) Blood Pressure (BP) tracking to provide continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring will be described. Fig. 4 shows a plot of waveform 400 (beat vs. time) showing a continuous beat waveform of the brachial artery 140 of a patient as measured by the sensor 104. Fig. 5 shows discrete absolute blood pressure measurements combined with an obtained pulsatile waveform for Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) Blood Pressure (BP) tracking to provide continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring. Fig. 5 shows the blood pressure values versus time.

For example, for illustrative purposes, 501 shows a discrete absolute blood pressure measurement 510 (e.g., systolic pressure) from the external arm cuff 102 combined with a continuous beat waveform 400 obtained from the sensor 104 to provide continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring, the continuous beat waveform 400 obtained from the sensor 104 being subjected to Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) Blood Pressure (BP) tracking to create a beat-to-beat blood pressure value 500. In particular, the interval between systolic discrete absolute blood pressure measurements 510 is calculated based on a combination of discrete systolic absolute blood pressure measurements 510 and measured continuous beat waveforms 400, the measured continuous beat waveforms 400 providing for Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) beat-to-beat Blood Pressure (BP) tracking to provide continuous beat-to-beat non-invasive blood pressure values 500 (e.g., including the interval between discrete absolute blood pressure measurements). Also, for illustrative purposes, 503 shows discrete absolute blood pressure measurements 520 (e.g., diastolic pressure) from the external arm cuff 102 combined with the continuous beat waveform 400 obtained from the sensor 104 to provide continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring, the continuous beat waveform 400 obtained from the sensor 104 being subjected to Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) beat-to-beat Blood Pressure (BP) tracking to create beat-to-beat blood pressure values 502. In particular, the interval between diastolic discrete absolute blood pressure measurements 520 is calculated based on a combination of the discrete diastolic absolute blood pressure measurements 520 and the measured continuous beat waveform 400, the measured continuous beat waveform 400 providing for Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) beat-to-beat Blood Pressure (BP) tracking to provide continuous beat-to-beat non-invasive blood pressure values 502 (e.g., including the interval between discrete absolute blood pressure measurements). It should be understood that Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) may be similarly calculated.

In one example, the blood pressure measurement device 100 may include: an outer brachial arm cuff 102 mountable about a patient's arm 130 to determine discrete absolute Blood Pressure (BP) measurements from a patient's brachial artery 140; and a sensor 104 mountable proximate the outer brachial arm cuff 102 to measure a continuous pulsatile waveform from the brachial artery of the patient (e.g., the measured continuous pulsatile waveform 400 from fig. 4). Discrete absolute blood pressure measurements (e.g., 510, 520 from fig. 5) can be combined with measured continuous pulsatile waveforms (e.g., measured continuous pulsatile waveform 400 from fig. 4) that provide Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) beat-to-beat Blood Pressure (BP) tracking at brachial artery locations to provide continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring (e.g., including intervals between discrete absolute blood pressure measurements). As an example, for purposes of illustration, as shown in fig. 4 and 5, 501 shows a discrete absolute blood pressure measurement 510 (e.g., systolic pressure) from the external arm cuff 102 combined with a continuous beat waveform 400 obtained from the sensor 104 to provide continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring, the continuous beat waveform 400 obtained from the sensor 104 being subjected to Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) Blood Pressure (BP) tracking to create a beat-to-beat blood pressure value 500. Similarly, 503 shows discrete absolute blood pressure measurements 520 (e.g., diastolic pressure) from the external arm cuff 102 combined with the continuous beat waveform 400 obtained from the sensor 104 to provide continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring, the continuous beat waveform 400 obtained from the sensor 104 undergoing Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) beat-to-beat Blood Pressure (BP) tracking to create beat-to-beat blood pressure values 502. Various Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) techniques may be utilized to accomplish these functions. Such continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring may be displayed on a suitable display device 120.

In another optional example, the blood pressure measurement device 100 can include an outer brachial arm cuff 102 mountable about a patient handle 130; a sensor 104 mountable near the outer brachial arm cuff 102; a display device 102; a memory 107; and a processor 106 coupled to a memory 107. The processor may process the data to: determining, by the outer brachial arm cuff 102, a discrete absolute Blood Pressure (BP) measurement from the patient's brachial artery 140 (e.g., 510, 520 from fig. 5); measuring, by the sensor 104, a continuous pulsatile waveform (e.g., 400 in fig. 4) from the brachial artery 140 of the patient; combining the discrete absolute blood pressure measurements with a measured continuous pulsatile waveform for Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) Blood Pressure (BP) tracking at brachial artery locations to determine a continuous non-invasive blood pressure waveform (e.g., implemented similar to the value waveform shown in fig. 5); and displays the continuous non-invasive blood pressure waveform on the display device 120.

Continuing the present example, discrete absolute blood pressure measurements (e.g., 510, 520 from fig. 5) may be combined with measured continuous pulsatile waveforms (e.g., the measured continuous pulsatile waveform 400 from fig. 4) for Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) beat-to-beat Blood Pressure (BP) tracking at the brachial location to provide continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring (e.g., including the intervals between discrete absolute blood pressure measurements). As an example, for purposes of illustration, as shown in fig. 4 and 5, beat-to-beat value 500 shows discrete absolute blood pressure measurements 510 (e.g., systolic pressure) from external arm cuff 102 combined with continuous beat waveform 400 obtained from sensor 104 to provide continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring, continuous beat waveform 400 obtained from sensor 104 is subjected to Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) beat-to-beat Blood Pressure (BP) tracking to create beat-to-beat value 500. Similarly, beat-to-beat value 502 shows discrete absolute blood pressure measurements 520 (e.g., diastolic pressure) from the outer brachial cuff 102 combined with the continuous beat waveform 400 obtained from sensor 104 to provide continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring, the continuous beat waveform 400 obtained from sensor 104 being subjected to Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) beat-to-beat Blood Pressure (BP) tracking to create beat-to-beat value 502. Various Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) techniques may be utilized to accomplish these functions. Thus, the blood pressure of the patient may be continuously monitored, tracked, determined, and displayed based on discrete baseline absolute blood pressure and pulsatile waveforms using PWA techniques. Such PWA techniques may include any suitable PWA technique, such as the technique developed by Centre susise d' Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM). Such continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring may be displayed on a suitable display device 120. It should be understood that various optional examples of the previous description: sensor types-e.g., flexible pressure sensors, strain sensors, or other types of sensors; connection type — e.g., wireless or wired; the type of arm cuff; and the type of PWA technology; may be used independently of one another or in combination with one another. Thus, it should be understood that the various previously described optional examples may be used independently of one another or in combination with one another.

It should be appreciated that the processing functions for implementing PWA blood pressure tracking to implement continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring for calculation and display may be implemented using the arm cuff 102, the sensor 104, the display device 120, or hardware, firmware and/or software at any suitable local or remote computing device, or a combination thereof, and these devices may be in suitable wired and/or wireless communication. Further, the display on the display device may be the device itself, a local remote device, or a local display at a remote device at any location.

Accordingly, the present disclosure relates to combining a flexible pressure or strain sensor that obtains a pulsatile waveform from which changes in Blood Pressure (BP) can be tracked using PWA (pulse wave analysis) techniques with an external cuff that measures discrete absolute blood pressure measurements from which changes can be tracked. In particular, examples of the present disclosure may relate to: a sensor that obtains a pulsatile waveform for Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) beat-to-beat Blood Pressure (BP) tracking at the brachial location is combined with a conventional oscillometric brachial cuff. This is advantageous because it can combine absolute blood pressure measurement and tracking into a single device. Further, this type of implementation of a conventional oscillometric brachial arm cuff in combination with sensors provides a component that is readily understood and accepted in appropriate medical environments (e.g., hospitals and other healthcare environments). However, implementations may also be readily implemented in non-medical environments (e.g., home, work, etc.).

It should be appreciated that the previously described aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented in connection with execution of instructions by a processor, circuit, controller, control circuit, or the like (e.g., the processor 106 of fig. 1). As an example, the processor may operate under the control of execution of a program, algorithm, routine, or instructions to perform a method or process (e.g., the method 300 of fig. 3) in accordance with previously described embodiments. For example, such programs may be implemented in firmware or software (e.g., stored in memory and/or elsewhere) and may be implemented by a processor, control circuitry, and/or other circuitry, which terms may be used interchangeably. Further, it should be understood that the terms processor, microprocessor, circuit, control circuit, circuit board, controller, microcontroller, etc., refer to any type of logic or circuitry capable of executing logic, commands, instructions, software, firmware, functions, etc., that may be used to implement an implementation of the present invention.

The various illustrative logical blocks, processors, modules, and circuits described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a circuit, a microcontroller, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gateway or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, circuit, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module/firmware executed by a processor, or in any combination thereof. A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor.

The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

The present disclosure also includes the following clauses:

1. a blood pressure measurement device for measuring a patient's blood pressure from a patient's arm, comprising:

an outer brachial arm cuff mountable about the patient's arm to determine discrete absolute Blood Pressure (BP) measurements of the patient's brachial artery; and

a sensor mountable near the outer brachial arm cuff to measure a continuous pulsatile waveform from the patient's brachial artery, wherein the discrete absolute blood pressure measurements are combined with a measured continuous pulsatile waveform for Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) beat-to-beat Blood Pressure (BP) tracking at the brachial location to provide continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring.

2. The blood pressure measurement device of claim 1, wherein the sensor is a flexible pressure sensor that measures arterial pulsation from surface pressure caused by motion of the patient's brachial artery.

3. The blood pressure measurement device of claim 1, wherein the sensor is a strain sensor that measures arterial pulsation through strain induced by brachial artery motion of the patient.

4. The blood pressure measurement device of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the outer brachial arm cuff is an oscillometric cuff.

5. The blood pressure measurement device of any of claims 1-4, wherein the absolute blood pressure measurements include systolic pressure, Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP), and diastolic pressure.

6. The blood pressure measurement device of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the brachial location is approximately at cardiac level, thereby not requiring compensation for hydrostatic changes.

7. The blood pressure measurement device of any of claims 1-6, wherein the continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring is displayed on a display device.

8. The blood pressure measurement device of any of claims 1-7, wherein the discrete Blood Pressure (BP) measurements are combined with Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) beat-to-beat Blood Pressure (BP) tracking and continuous beat waveforms to estimate a continuous blood pressure waveform.

9. The blood pressure measurement device of claim 8, wherein the continuous blood pressure waveform is displayed on a display device.

10. A blood pressure measurement system, comprising:

an outer brachial arm cuff mountable around a patient handle;

a sensor mountable near the outer brachial arm cuff;

a display device;

a memory; and

a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to:

determining a discrete absolute Blood Pressure (BP) measurement from the patient's brachial artery from the outer brachial arm cuff;

measuring, by the sensor, a continuous pulsatile waveform of the patient's brachial artery;

combining the discrete absolute blood pressure measurements with the measured continuous pulsatile waveform for Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) Blood Pressure (BP) tracking at the brachial location to determine a continuous non-invasive blood pressure waveform; and is

Displaying a continuous non-invasive blood pressure waveform on the display device.

11. The blood pressure measurement system of claim 10, wherein the sensor is a flexible pressure sensor that measures arterial pulsation from surface pressure caused by brachial artery motion of the patient.

12. The blood pressure measurement system of claim 10, wherein the sensor is a strain sensor that measures arterial pulsation through strain induced by motion of the patient's brachial artery.

13. The blood pressure measurement system of any one of claims 10-12, wherein the outer brachial arm cuff is an oscillometric cuff.

14. The blood pressure measurement system of any of claims 10-13, wherein the absolute blood pressure measurements include systolic pressure, Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP), and diastolic pressure.

15. The blood pressure measurement system according to any one of claims 10-14, wherein the brachial location is substantially at cardiac level, thereby not requiring compensation for hydrostatic changes.

16. The blood pressure measurement system of any of claims 10-15, wherein the discrete Blood Pressure (BP) measurements are combined with Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) beat-to-beat Blood Pressure (BP) tracking and continuous beat waveforms to estimate the continuous blood pressure waveform.

17. A method for continuously monitoring blood pressure of a patient, comprising:

determining a discrete absolute Blood Pressure (BP) measurement from the patient's brachial artery from an external brachial arm cuff;

measuring, by a sensor, a continuous pulsatile waveform of the brachial artery of the patient;

combining the discrete absolute blood pressure measurements with the measured continuous pulsatile waveform for Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) beat-to-beat Blood Pressure (BP) tracking at brachial location to provide continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the sensor is a flexible pressure sensor that measures arterial pulsation from surface pressure caused by brachial artery motion of the patient.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the sensor is a strain sensor that measures arterial pulsation through strain induced by motion of the brachial artery of the patient.

20. The method of any of claims 17-19, wherein the outer brachial arm cuff is an oscillometric cuff.

21. The method of any of claims 17-20, wherein the absolute blood pressure measurements include systolic pressure, Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP), and diastolic pressure.

22. The method of any one of claims 17-21, wherein the brachial position is at approximately cardiac level, thereby not requiring compensation for hydrostatic changes.

23. The method of any one of claims 17-22, further comprising displaying the continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring on a display device.

24. The method of any one of claims 17-23, wherein the discrete Blood Pressure (BP) measurements are combined with the Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) beat-to-beat Blood Pressure (BP) tracking and the continuous beat waveform to estimate a continuous blood pressure waveform.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising displaying the continuous blood pressure waveform on a display device.

Claims

an outer brachial arm cuff mountable about a patient's arm to determine discrete absolute Blood Pressure (BP) measurements of the patient's brachial artery; and

a sensor mountable near an external brachial arm cuff to measure a continuous pulsatile waveform from the patient's brachial artery, wherein the discrete absolute blood pressure measurements are combined with a measured continuous pulsatile waveform for Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) beat-to-beat Blood Pressure (BP) tracking at the brachial location to provide continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring.

2. The blood pressure measurement device of claim 1, wherein the sensor is a flexible pressure sensor that measures arterial pulsation from surface pressure caused by brachial artery motion of the patient.

8. The blood pressure measurement device of any one of claims 1-7, wherein the discrete Blood Pressure (BP) measurements are combined with Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) beat-to-beat Blood Pressure (BP) tracking and continuous beat waveforms to estimate a continuous blood pressure waveform.

10. A blood pressure measurement system, comprising:

an outer brachial arm cuff mountable around a patient's arm;

a sensor mountable near the outer brachial arm cuff;

a display device;

a memory; and

a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to:

measuring, by the sensor, a continuous pulsatile waveform of the brachial artery of the patient;

16. The blood pressure measurement system of any of claims 10-15, wherein the discrete Blood Pressure (BP) measurements are combined with Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) beat-to-beat Blood Pressure (BP) tracking and the continuous pulse waveform to estimate the continuous blood pressure waveform.

combining the discrete absolute blood pressure measurements with the measured continuous pulsatile waveform for Pulse Wave Analysis (PWA) inter-pulse Blood Pressure (BP) tracking at the brachial location to provide continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring.

22. The method of any of claims 17-21, wherein the brachial location is approximately at cardiac level, thereby not requiring compensation for hydrostatic changes.