Electronic sphygmomanometer with graphical output

• US 4,747,412 A
• Filed: 07/08/1986
• Issued: 05/31/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/1985
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Terumo Kabushiki Kaisha Trading As Terumo Corporation
• Original Assignee: Terumo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Yamaguchi, Keiji
• Primary Examiner(s): Jaworski, Francis J.
• Application Number:
  US06/883,367
• Time in Patent Office: 693 Days
• Field of Search: 128/677-683, 128/670-672, 128/DIG. 900, 340/722, 340/753-754, 364/415, 364/417, 346/33 ME
• US Class Current: 600/496
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/022 by applying pressure to close blood vessels, e.g. against the skin; Ophthalmodynamometers

Abstract

A sphygmomanometer measures blood pressure inclusive of systolic and diastolic blood pressure values, pulse rate and atmospheric temperature prevailing at the time of measurement. The sphygmomanometer includes a memory for storing plural sets of information relating to measured blood pressure together with time information relating to the times at which the measurements were taken, and a printer for generating a graph having a time axis and an axis for information relating to blood pressure. In a first output mode, the printer graphically records systolic and diastolic blood pressure values that prevailed at the time of measurement, connects these two values with a line segment and graphically records pulse rate and atmospheric temperature that prevailed at the time of measurement on the time axis together with the corresponding systolic and diastolic blood pressure values. In a second output mode, the printer numerically records systolic and diastolic blood pressure values, date and time of measurement, pulse rate and atmospheric temperature and in addition produces a graph pattern of reference blood pressure regions with axes of systolic and diastolic blood pressure and with the measured blood pressure indicated thereon.

Claims

1. An electronic sphygmomanometer comprising:

measuring means for measuring information related to blood pressure at a plurality of times, the information including at least systolic and diastolic blood pressure values;

pattern holding means for holding a graph pattern having a first axis along which systolic blood pressure is plotted and a second axis along which diastolic blood pressure is plotted, and for holding a reference blood pressure pattern for blood pressure diagnosis for superposition on the graph pattern;

calculating means for calculating, based on the systolic and diastolic blood pressure values measured by said measuring means, a point of intersection indicating the systolic and diastolic blood pressure values on the graph pattern held by said pattern holding means;

developing means for developing the point of intersection calculated by said calculating means as data on the graph pattern;

printing means for recording on recording media the graph pattern, the reference blood pressure pattern and the developed data resulting from the developing performed by said developing means; and

control means for controlling transmission of the graph and reference patterns from said pattern holding means and the data developed by said developing means to said printing means, whereby the systolic and diastolic blood pressure values are indicated and recorded as the point of intersection on the graph pattern and the reference blood pressure pattern is indicated and recorded in a form superposed on the point of intersection.

2. An electronic sphygmomanometer according to claim 1, wherein said measuring means includes atmospheric temperature measuring means for measuring the value of atmospheric temperature when blood pressure is measured, and said control means being further for sending the value of the measured atmospheric temperature recorded by said recording means to said printing means together with the developed data from said developing means, whereby said printing means is capable of recording the value of the measured atmospheric temperature.

3. An elelctronic sphygmomanometer according to claim 1,

wherein said measuring means includes means for measuring the value of a pulse rate when the blood pressure is measured, and

wherein said control means is further for sending the value of the pulse rate, included in the information related to blood pressure, to said printing means together with the data developed by said developing means, whereby said printing means is capable of recording the value of the pulse rate.

4. An electronic sphygmomanometer according to claim 1, wherein the reference blood pressure pattern for blood pressure diagnosis comprises boundary lines indicating respective regions of blood pressure.

5. An electronic sphygmomanometer according to claim 4, wherein the boundary lines of said reference blood pressure pattern for blood pressure diagnosis serve to define a high-blood pressure area, a marginal blood pressure area and a normal blood pressure area.

6. An electronic sphygmomanometer according to claim 5 wherein the high-blood pressure area covers systolic blood pressure values above 160 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure values above 95 mmHg, the marginal blood pressure area covers systolic blood pressure values ranging from 140 mmHg to 160 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure values ranging from 90 mmHg to 94 mmHg, and the normal blood pressure area covers systolic blood pressure values no higher than 139 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure values no higher than 89 mmHg.

7. An electronic sphygmomanometer comprising:

selecting means for selectively setting said electronic sphygmomanometer to one of first and second function modes;

measuring means for measuring information related to blood pressure inclusive of at least systolic and diastolic blood pressure values;

timekeeping means for clocking times at which measurements are performed by said measuring means;

memory means for storing plural sets of the information measured by said measuring means together with the times clocked by said timekeeping means when the measurements were taken;

first pattern holding means for holding a first graph pattern having a first axis along which time is plotted and a second axis along which measured systolic and diastolic blood pressures are plotted;

reading means for reading the times and the information out of said memory means in a time series;

blood pressure developing means for developing the systolic and diastolic blood pressure values from the information read out by said reading means as positions on the first graph patern using the times clocked by said timekeeping means;

line segment developing means for developing line segments connecting the systolic and diastolic blood pressure values developed by said blood pressure developing means at each of the times clocked by said tiemkeeping means, the line segments forming a bar graph pattern;

second pattern holding means for holding a second graph pattern having a first axis along which systolic blood pressure is plotted and a second axis along which diastolic blood pressure is plotted including a reference blood pressure pattern for blood pressure diagnosis superposed on the first and second graph axes;

calculating means for calculating based on the systolic and diastlic blood pressure values measured by said measuring means, a point of intersection indicating the systolic and diastolic blood pressure values on the second graph pattern held by said second pattern holding means;

intersection developing means for developing the point of intersection calculated by said calculating means as data on the second graph pattern;

printing means for recording on recording media the bar graph pattern developed by said line segment developing means in the first function mode and, in the second function mode, the second graph pattern and the data developed by said intersection developing means; and

control means for controlling transmission of the blood pressure values and the bar graph pattern developed by said blood pressure developing means and said line segment developing means, respectively, in the first function mode and, in the second function mode, controlling transmission of the second graph pattern and the data developed by said intersection developing means to said printing means, whereby in the first functon mode, the systolic and diastolic blood pressure values and the bar graph pattern are indicated and recorded on the recording media and in the second function mode, the systolic and diastolic blood pressure values are indicated and recorded on the recording media as the point of intersection on the second graph pattern and the reference blood pressure pattern is indicated and recorded in a form superposed on the point of intersection in the second graph pattern.

8. An electronic sphygmomanometer according to claim 7, wherein the reference blood pressure pattern held in said second pattern holding means includes a safe area, a questionable area and a danger area of systolic and diastollic blood pressure and said printing means records the safe area, the questionable area and the danger area superposed on the point of intersection under the control of said control means in the second function mode.

9. An electronic sphygmomanometer comprising:

measuring means for measuring information related to blood pressure at a plurality of times, the information including at least systolic and diastolic blood pressure values;

pattern holding means for holding a graph pattern having a first axis along which systolic blood pressure is plotted and a second axis along which diastolic blood pressure is plotted;

reference region developing means for developing reference data including a safe area, a questionable area and a danger area of systolic and diastolic blood pressure values;

calculating means for calculating, based on the systolic and diastolic blood pressure values measured by said measuring means, a point of intersection indicating the systolic and diastolic blood pressure values on the graph pattern held by said pattern holding means;

intersection developing means for developing the point of intersection calculated by said calculating means as intersection data on the graph pattern;

recording means for recording the safe area, the questionable area and the danger area of the systolic and diatolic values onto recording media to form a graph with axes corresponding to systolic and diastolic blood pressure;

printing means for recording on the recording media, the graph pattern and the reference and intersection data resulting from the developing performed by said reference region and intersection developing means; and

control means for controlling transmission of the graph pattern from said pattern holding means and the reference region and intersection data developed by said reference region and intersection developing means to said printing means, whereby the systolic and diastolic blood pressure values are indicated and recorded as the point of intersection on the graph pattern and the safe area, questionable area and danger area of systolic and diasatolic blood pressure are indicated and recorded in a form superposed on the point of intersection.

10. A method for automatically displaying blood pressure in a graphical format, comprising the steps of:

(a) sphygmomanometrically measuring blood pressure at a plurality of times to produce information related thereto, the information including at least systolic and diastolic blood pressure values;

(b) storing the information measured in step (a);

(c) storing a graph pattern having a first axis along which systolic blood pressure is plotted and a second axis along which diastolic blood pressure is plotted, a reference blood pressure region for blood pressure diagnosis being included in the graph pattern;

(d) calcualting a point of intersection corresponding to the systolic and diastolic blood pressure values measured in step (a) with reference to the graph pattern stored in step (c); and

(e) recording on recording media the graph pattern including the reference blood pressure region for blood pressure diagnosis superposed on the point of intersection calculated in step (d).