Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol 80, Issue 1 307-314, Copyright © 1996 by American Physiological Society
A rapid noninvasive blood pressure measurement method for discrete value and full waveform determination
R. P. Schnall, N. Gavriely, S. Lewkowicz and Y. Palti
Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
A new noninvasive measurement method providing rapid measurement of
systemic arterial blood pressure (BP) and its validation is described. The
method combines precisely timed electrocardiographic-gated rapid release of
occluding counter-pressure (600 mmHg/s) with photoplethysmographic
detection of radial artery filling to measure arterial opening pressure. A
complete BP waveform is reconstructed from multiple repetitions of the
measurement cycle at successively increasing time intervals relative to the
electrocardiographic signal. Systolic and diastolic values can be measured
within two to four cardiac cycles at the peak and trough of the BP wave.
The new method was compared with sphygmomanometry in 26 randomly selected
subjects over a sphygmomanometric pressure range of 53-110 (diastolic) and
100-190 mmHg (systolic). The mean pressure differences between the
sphygmomanometric and new methods were -1.3 +/- 15.2 (SD) (systolic) and
0.7 +/- 9.9 mmHg (diastolic), and corresponding BP values measured by these
methods were highly correlated [P < 0.001; R2 = 0.87 (systolic); R2 =
0.80 (diastolic)]. The new method was compared with sphygmomanometry and
intra-arterial BP in six patients. These tests confirmed the method's
validity compared with established methods. The new method was ostensibly
immune to mechanical perturbations when tested during cycle ergometry at 60
W. The new method may facilitate the study of circulatory phenomena
previously inaccessible by available noninvasive methods and minimizes
patient discomfort and circulatory arrest at the measurement site.
