Integrated manual mechanical and electronic sphygmomanometer within a single enclosure

• US 20060155196A1
• Filed: 01/09/2006
• Published: 07/13/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ramsey Medical, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ramsey Medical, Inc.
• Inventors: Ramsey, Maynard
• Granted Patent: US 8,016,765 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/490
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02141 Details of apparatus construction, e.g. pump units or housings therefor, cuff pressurising systems, arrangements of fluid conduits or circuits A61B5/02233, A61B5/0235 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02208 using the Korotkoff method
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02225 using the oscillometric method
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0225 the pressure being controlled by electric signals, e.g. derived from Korotkoff sounds

Abstract

The present invention provides a new multi-mode sphygmomanometer which integrates into one enclosure a full manual sphygmomanometer comprising a mechanical cuff pressure measuring and display system, a manual inflation bulb and deflation valve such elements comprising the manual/mechanical aspect of the integrated device. Within the same physical enclosure and integrated with the manual sphygmomanometer the device also comprises an electronic blood pressure measuring and monitoring device comprising electronic sensing of the pressure, electronic indication of the cuff pressure and oscillation or KS amplitudes and logic implemented in a microprocessor that automatically interprets these signals to determine the BP parameters.

Claims

1. A blood pressure measuring device which comprises, in a single unit, a manual sphygmomanometer comprising:

a connector port for connection with a mechanical cuff pressure measuring system, a display, a manual inflation bulb, and a deflation valve, said single unit also comprising an electronic blood pressure measuring and monitoring device capable of electronic sensing of blood pressure and comprising an electronic indication of cuff pressure, plus logic implemented by a microprocessor that automatically interprets and displays blood pressure data.

2. The blood pressure measuring unit of claim 1 which further comprises a device for automatic cuff inflation, for pressurizing the cuff, and for automatic cuff deflation in a regulated manner for blood pressure measurement.

3. The blood pressure measuring unit of claim 1 which is capable of operating in either full manual mode, semi-manual mode, semi-automatic mode, or full automatic mode.

4. The blood pressure measuring unit of claim 1 in which said pressure measuring display comprises a numerical scale, a rotatable arm for pointing at various numbers on the scale in a manner dependent on blood pressure sensed in a mechanical mode, and an array of electronic indicators, which individually provide an indication, each in the vicinity of a given number on the scale in a manner responsive to electronic blood pressure sensing.

5. The blood pressure sensing unit of claim 1 which carries an electric inflation pump within said manual inflation bulb.

6. The blood pressure sensing unit of claim 4 in which the display that comprises the numerical scale also comprises a circuit board for electronic components of the unit.

7. The method of performing (1) an electronic blood pressure measurement on a patient using the device of claim 1, and also (2) performing, either simultaneously with, before, or after step (1), a manual blood pressure measurement on a patient using the device of claim 1.

9. The blood pressure measuring unit of claim 1, where the manual inflation bulb and the manual deflation valve are not a part of the unit and are optionally attached to the external pneumatic system which includes the BP cuff.

18. The blood pressure measuring unit of claim 1 which further comprises one or more numeric digital displays.

19. The blood pressure measuring unit of claim 18 where such one or more numeric digital displays are of at least one of LED, OLED, LCD, and plasma display technologies.

20. The blood pressure measuring unit of claim 19 where such LCD technology display takes the appearance of a traditional mechanical sphygmomanometer gage and visually emulates said traditional mechanical gage for the user of the device with an LCD display.

21. The blood pressure measuring unit of claim 20 where said display is of at least one of LED, OLED, LCD, and plasma display technologies.

22. The blood pressure measuring unit of claim 1 which additionally comprises an optional external sensor comprising at least one of a KS sensing means and a blood oxygen sensing means.

23. The blood pressure measuring unit of claim 22 which displays the information provided by said external sensor(s) for the user to visualize.

8. An electronic BP device wherein all of the electronic measurement and display components are contained on a single circuit board and there is only the one single circuit board within the device enclosure.

10. A blood pressure measuring device which comprises, in a single unit, an electronic sphygmomanometer comprising a connector port for connection with an external pneumatic blood pressure cuff, an electronic pressure sensing and display means, an electric cuff inflation pump, and an automatic cuff deflation valve, plus logic implemented by a microprocessor that automatically controls the cuff pressure and interprets at least one of oscillations in cuff pressure and amplitudes of KS during the process of measuring the BP and displays said BP parameters including heart rate at the completion of the determination.

11. A blood pressure unit as in claim 10, wherein said electronic measurement and display components are all contained on a single circuit board.

12. A blood pressure measuring device that is ergonomically shaped to fit the human hand.

13. A blood pressure device as in claim 12 which contains both mechanical and electronic pressure sensing and indicating systems.

14. A blood pressure device as in claim 13 where the cuff pressure from each of the measurement and display systems is simultaneously displayed for the user such that if there is agreement of the assessment of the pressure at all times between the two systems, the user is assured that the unit is measuring the indicated cuff pressure accurately.

15. A sphygmomanometer which can function electronically or manually.

16. An electronic sphygmomanometer which also has the ability to make manual BP readings with or without power being applied to the electronic portion of the device.

17. A sphygmomanometer as in claim 16 wherein said sphygmomanometer can simultaneously implement two or more BP measurement modes.