Integrated manual mechanical and electronic sphygmomanometer within a single enclosure

• US 8,016,765 B2
• Filed: 01/09/2006
• Issued: 09/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ramsey Medical, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ramsey Medical, Inc.
• Inventors: Ramsey, Maynard
• Primary Examiner(s): Mallari; Patricia C
• Assistant Examiner(s): D'ANGELO, MICHAEL J
• Application Number:
  US11/327,932
• Publication Number:
  US 20060155196A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,073 Days
• Field of Search: 600/481, 600/485, 600490-499
• 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 traditional manual sphygmomanometer comprising:

a connector port for connection with a subject limb compression cuff, a totally mechanical cuff pressure sensing and indicating mechanism comprising an aneroid pressure sensing mechanism connected to a rotationally movable indicator needle which rotates when the system is pressurized and indicates cuff pressure by its angular position over a pressure scale positioned behind said indicator needle, the totally mechanical and manual sphygmomanometer further comprising a manual inflation bulb for pressurizing said compression cuff, and a manual deflation valve for releasing cuff pressure during the totally manual blood pressure measurement process, a manual blood pressure measuring unit also containing within its enclosure, an electronic blood pressure measuring and monitoring device capable of totally electronic sensing the cuff pressure and small pressure variations in a blood pressure cuff at each cuff pressure during deflation of the cuff by the electrical deflation valve mounted within the enclosure, said cuff pressure values and pressure oscillation values being acquired by and interpreted by a microprocessor mounted within the single enclosure to estimate a subject'"'"'s blood pressure and heart rate and indicate said blood pressure and heart rate by lighting appropriate LEDs positioned on the same scale as that used for manual indication of cuff pressure, said electronic blood pressure measuring and monitoring device being powered by batteries which are also enclosed within the enclosure.

2. The blood pressure measuring unit of claim 1 in which said indicting mechanism comprises a numerical scale, where in said rotatable needle points at numbers on the scale in a manner dependent on blood pressure sensed in a mechanical mode, and the LED'"'"'s, 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.

3. The blood pressure sensing unit of claim 2 in which the display that comprises the numerical scale also comprises a circuit board for electronic components of the unit.

4. The blood pressure measuring unit of claim 1 wherein said LED'"'"'s are used for displaying cuff pressure during the process of a manual or an electronic measurement and for displaying subsequently the blood pressure and heart rate values at the completion of an electronic measurement.

5. 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, and an electric inflation pump within said manual inflation bulb.

6. An electronic and manual blood pressure device for making electronic and mechanical blood pressure measurements with a blood pressure cuff wherein all electronic measurement and display components are contained with an enclosure of the blood pressure device comprising;

a manual sphygmomanometer comprising a manual inflation blub and a deflation valve for mechanically measuring the pressure of the blood pressure cuff;

a mechanical aneroid gauge comprising a pointer for pointing to a mechanical value on a numerical scale representative of the mechanically sensed blood pressure measurement in the blood pressure cuff measured by said manual sphygmomanometer;

an electronic blood pressure measuring device disposed within said housing for electronically measuring the pressure of the blood pressure cuff;

an electronic indicator comprising an array of electronic indicators encircling said mechanical aneroid gauge and located adjacent to said numerical scale for indicating an electronic value on said numerical scale representative of the electronically sensed blood pressure measurement in the blood pressure cuff; and

said pointer and said electronic indicator simultaneously displaying the cuff pressure on said numerical scale for indicating a correlation between mechanical measurements taken using the manual sphygmomanometer and electronic measurements taken using the electronic blood pressure measuring device.

7. A blood pressure measuring device that is ergonomically shaped to fit the human hand and provided within a single unit comprising a totally mechanical aneroid means including a mechanical aneroid gauge comprises a pointer for pointing to a mechanical value on a numerical scale for mechanically measuring the subject blood-pressure using traditional manual sphygmomanometric methods and which additionally contains totally electronic means comprising an electronic indicator located adjacent to said numerical scale for electronically measuring the subject blood pressure and heart rate using the oscillometric measurement method and for indicating the measuring the a subject'"'"'s blood pressure using said numerical scale.

8. A blood pressure device as in claim 7 where a cuff pressure from the mechanical aneroid gauge and electronic indicators are simultaneously displayed for the user such that if there is agreement of the assessment of the pressures at all times, the user is assured that the unit is measuring the indicated cuff pressures accurately.

9. A combined manual sphygmomanometer and electronic blood pressure device for measuring blood pressure of a patient with a conventional blood pressure cuff, comprising:

a housing supporting manual inflation bulb;

said manual inflation bulb connected for inflating the conventional blood pressure cuff;

a deflation valve disposed within said housing for deflating the conventional blood pressure cuff;

a mechanical display comprising a mechanical aneroid gauge having a pointer for pointing to a value on a numerical scale secured to said housing;

said mechanical display connected to said manual inflation bulb and said deflation valve for enabling an operator to determine the systolic and diastolic blood pressure of the patient with the use of a stethoscope;

an electronic indicator located adjacent to said numerical scale of said mechanical aneroid gauge; and

an electronic blood pressure measuring and monitoring device disposed the housing and connected to said inflation bulb and said deflation valve and said electronic indicator for electronically sensing and displaying using said numerical scale, the systolic and diastolic blood pressure of the patient to the operator.

10. A combined manual sphygmomanometer and electronic blood pressure device for measuring blood pressure of

a patient with a conventional blood pressure cuff, comprising:

a housing supporting manual inflation bulb;

said manual inflation bulb connected for inflating the conventional blood pressure cuff;

a deflation valve disposed within said housing for deflating the conventional blood pressure cuff;

a display secured to said housing;

said display comprising a mechanical aneroid gauge connected to said manual inflation bulb and said deflation valve for enabling an operator to determine the systolic and diastolic blood pressure of the patient with the use of a stethoscope;

an electronic indicator located adjacent to said mechanical aneroid gauge;

an electronic blood pressure measuring and monitoring device disposed the housing and connected to said inflation bulb and said deflation valve and said electronic indicator for electronically sensing and displaying of the systolic and diastolic blood pressure of the patient to the operator;

said mechanical aneroid gauge comprising a numerical scale having numbers with a rotatable arm for pointing to a number on said numerical scale representative of a mechanically sensed pressure of the blood pressure cuff; and

said electronic indicator comprising an array of electronic indicators located adjacent to said numbers on said numerical scale, respectively, for indicating a number on said numerical scale representative of an electronically sensed blood pressure of the patient.

11. A combined manual sphygmomanometer and electronic blood pressure device as set forth in claim 10, wherein said array of electronic indicators are contained on a single circuit board located with said housing.

12. A combined manual sphygmomanometer and electronic blood pressure device for measuring blood pressure of a patient with a conventional blood pressure cuff, comprising:

a housing supporting an inflation bulb;

said inflation bulb connected for inflating the conventional blood pressure cuff;

a deflation valve disposed within said housing for deflating the conventional blood pressure cuff;

a mechanical display comprising a mechanical aneroid gauge having a pointer for pointing to a value on a numerical scale secured to said housing;

said mechanical display connected to said manual inflation bulb and said deflation valve for enabling an operator to determine the systolic and diastolic blood pressure of the patient with the use of a stethoscope;

an electronic indicator located adjacent to said numerical scale of said mechanical aneroid gauge; and

a microprocessor disposed within housing for automatically inflating and deflating the conventional blood pressure cuff to electronically sense and display using said numerical scale the systolic and diastolic blood pressure of the patient and for interpreting at least one of oscillations in the pressure within the conventional blood pressure cuff and amplitudes of Korotkoff Sounds (KS) during the process of measuring the blood pressure of the patient.

13. A combined manual sphygmomanometer and electronic blood pressure device as set forth in claim 12, wherein the combined manual sphygmomanometer and electronic blood pressure device can function in a mechanical mode or an electronic mode;

and

said mechanical aneroid gauge and said electronic indicator being simultaneously displayed to alert an operator of any inconsistencies between said mechanical mode and said electronic mode.