A mechanical pressure generator for simulating real human blood pressure waveforms

摘要

The blood pressure is often measured with automated non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) measuring devices. Among these devices, the oscillometric method based NIBP devices are the most common ones, which are used for general home care or professional usage in hospitals. In oscillometric method, the blood pressure is indirectly inferred from the oscillometric pressure waveform usually collected from the upper arm with a cuff and a pressure transducer. The algorithm used to determine the blood pressure and its accuracy can only be verified by clinical validations, where the results from the NIBP measuring devices are compared with that obtained by the auscultatory method. In this work, we introduce our recent progress in developing a simulator for generating real human blood pressure waveforms. The BP simulator can be used to characterize the oscillometric method based NIBP measuring devices. We describe the design, working principle and some results of the BP simulator.