oscillometric BP measurement

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coffeebythelake

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  1. Attending Physician
that's how automatic BP cuffs work
it seems to me not all that different from listening to korotkoff sounds
measuring vibrations via a pressure transducer vs. vibrations as sound waves through the stethoscope
am i missing something about the physics of all this?
 
Well the bp cuff measures the amplitude of oscillations and is able to detect when the amplitude is greatest- this is the MAP and is the most accurate reading. Then systolic and diastolic are calculated by assuming they occur when the amplitude declines to a certain fraction of the maximum on either side. So the systolic is recorded well after oscillations appear and diastolic well before oscillations disappear.

This is in contrast to korotkoff sounds where we hear systolic and diastolic and have no way of measuring MAP (other than estimating it).
 
Well the bp cuff measures the amplitude of oscillations and is able to detect when the amplitude is greatest- this is the MAP and is the most accurate reading. Then systolic and diastolic are calculated by assuming they occur when the amplitude declines to a certain fraction of the maximum on either side. So the systolic is recorded well after oscillations appear and diastolic well before oscillations disappear.

This is in contrast to korotkoff sounds where we hear systolic and diastolic and have no way of measuring MAP (other than estimating it).

Thx
 
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