Electronic blood pressure meter

• US 4,771,790 A
• Filed: 05/18/1987
• Issued: 09/20/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/1985
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Omron Tateisi Electronics Co. (Omron Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Omron Tateisi Electronics Co. (Omron Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamakoshi, Kenichi, Shimazu, Hideaki, Yamasawa, Tsutomu
• Primary Examiner(s): Jaworski, Francis J.
• Application Number:
  US07/050,387
• Time in Patent Office: 491 Days
• Field of Search: 128/686, 128/667, 128/327, 128/DIG. 20, 128/679-683
• US Class Current: 600/499
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02241 of small dimensions, e.g. adapted to fingers
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02255 the pressure being controlled by plethysmographic signals, e.g. derived from optical sensors

Abstract

Disclosed is an electronic blood pressure meter which is adapted to measure blood pressure from a finger. A cuff for applying pressure to the finger comprises a plurality of chambers which are communicated to each other and, thereby, provides a sufficient flexibility to closely conform to the contour of the finger. A sensor for detecting pulse wave data may be conveniently place on the inner surface of the cuff and is adapted to detect the reflection of light by an artery. Further, an air buffer can increase the effective air volume of the cuff and can reduce the rate of the pressure drop of the air cuff for a given rate of air vent from the cuff. By deriving the pulse wave data and computing the systolic and diastolic blood pressure therefrom in the course of increasing the air pressure of the cuff, the discomfort to the patient whose blood pressure is to be measured can be substantially reduced.

Claims

1. A cuff for measuring blood pressure by surrounding a finger of a living body and obstructing the blood in the finger, comprising:

an airbag having an internal and an external skin, said airbag being sized and adapted to surround said finger and having a certain length defined in a direction along said finger and a certain width defined in a direction around said finger when said airbag is positioned on said finger, said internal and external skins having ends and being contiguously joined at said ends along said length and serving to define an inflatable chamber, said air bag width being sufficient for substantially surrounding said finger, said internal skin being pre-formed into a plurality of adjacent sectioned air chambers, each of said sectioned air chambers extending substantially along the entirety of said airbag length and freely communicating with an adjacent chamber along the entirety of said length, said internal skin being sufficiently flexible such that respective sectioned chambers are adapted to be inflated individually with respect to other of said sectioned chambers while said airbag is positioned on said finger.

2. A cuff for measuring blood pressure as defined in claim 1, wherein the internal skin is provided with a plurality of bulges of a substantially trapezoidal shape defining the corresponding air chambers, wherein the internal skin defines a shorter side between the two parallel sides of each of the trapezoidal shaped bulges.

3. A cuff for measuring blood pressure as defined in claim 1, wherein the internal skin is provided with a plurality of bulges of a substantially semicircular shape defining the corresponding air chambers, wherein the internal skin defines a circular portion of each of the semicircular shaped bulges.

4. A cuff for measuring blood pressure as defined in claim 2 or 3, wherein the external skin is substantially flat.

5. A cuff for measuring blood pressure as defined in claim 2 or 3, wherein the external skin is substantially symmetric to the inner skin in shape.

6. An electronic blood pressure meter and cuff combination for measuring blood pressure by surrounding a finger of a living body and obstructing the blood in the finger, comprising:

an airbag having an internal and an external skin, said airbag being sized and adapted to surround said finger and having a certain length defined in a direction along said finger and a certain width defined in a direction around said finger when said airbag is positioned on said finger, said internal and external skins having ends and being contiguously joined at said ends along said length and serving to define an inflatable chamber, said air bag width being sufficient for substantially surrounding said finger, said internal skin being pre-formed into a plurality of adjacent sectioned air chambers, each of said sectioned air chambers extending substantially along the entirety of said airbag length and freely communicating with an adjacent chamber along the entirety of said length, said internal skin being sufficiently flexible such that respective sectioned chambers are adapted to be inflated individually with respect to other of said sectioned chambers while said airbag is positioned on said finger, at least one chamber being recessed relative to at least one adjacent chamber for accommodating at least one artery sensor thereon.