A new arterial blood pressure Holter based on the oscillometric method

From the comparison of the data available in the field literature, it follows that the range of oscillometric ratios is quite extensive, with an interval of 20% for systolic and around 30% for diastolic blood pressure. For example Geddes [8] states that these may range from 0.45 to 0.57 for systolic and from 0.75 to 0.86 for diastolic. Current commercial devices were not designed to perform the task of calculating these oscillometric ratios, and they utilize average values set for all measurements regardless of the physiological characteristics of the individual user and the yielding of the cuff used. While, as noted, oscillometric ratios are unique to each user as they contain much individual and operational information, such as cuff pulsatility, physiology of the measurement site, environmental conditions and the clinician's ability in performing the measurement. Hence, the need to revise current standards by making more restrictive rules is clear. In the author's opinion, this innovative solution has the special features providing greater accuracy in the measurement of systolic and diastolic pressures, and simulations and preliminary clinical trials have confirmed this. The work is devoted to both the presentation of the pressure Holter prototype and to the communication of results obtained during the characterization of the methodology and the algorithms used. Validation involved 33 subjects (22 men and 11 women) aged between 23 and 82 years, with arm circumferences from 21 to 41 cm, with systolic blood pressure (PSYS) in the 94 ÷ 204 mmHg range and diastolic (PDIA) 49÷106 mmHg. The results largely satisfy the requirements of the Protocol AAMI SP-10.