Quick Doc: Design of Wireless Blood Pressure Device

Abstract

<p>Today’s unfortunate reality of an increasing number of patients coupled with the decreasing number of doctors within North America, ultimately manifests into intolerable waiting times in clinics and hospitals, alike. In attempt to maximize the resultant patient/doctor interaction, Quick Doc has been implemented to sequentially acquire a defined set of physiological measurements without the need of a practitioner. As such, an electrocardiogram signal, a blood pressure measurement and blood oxygen content are acquired and transmitted wirelessly to a base station where the data can be logged and further analyzed. Blood pressure specifically, is one of the most common and basic medical assessments. However, errors in measuring blood pressure with the auscultatory method often occur due to human error. This inaccuracy can be minimized by using the device’s oscillometric method to detect oscillations within the cuff to determine the systolic, mean arterial, and diastolic pressures in real-time. Communication between the patient and the device is achieved via an LCD screen. The device’s interface also prevents over inflation of the cuff and allows for immediate display of blood pressure measurements. Compatible results have been achieved with that of commercial blood pressure products. The theory behind the blood pressure device, hardware and software design, the experimental results, and efficacy of the device are presented.</p>