Online Micro–Controller Non–Invasive Blood Pressure Monitoring System (E–BPM)

Measurements of blood pressure have been part of the basic clinical examination since the earliest days of modern medicine. Two of the most commonly used methods in performing the non-invasive blood pressure measurement are the auscultatory method and the oscillometric method. However, the conventional auscultatory method using sphygmomanometer and stethoscope is still widely used by doctors. The main problem in implementing this conventional method is the inaccuracy in readings due to the different abilities among doctors in sensing their patients’ blood pressure. On the other hand, the usage of oscillometric electronic blood pressure monitors has provided a good solution to the problem but the limitation is that they do not indicate the patient’s heartbeat condition. As a solution, the online micro-controller based non-invasive blood pressure monitoring system (e-BPM) is developed in this study to provide a more convenient and accurate measurement of blood pressure using the principles of the oscillometric method. In performing the blood pressure measurement, the medical hardware delivers the pressure inside arm cuff to the pressure sensor port. The e-BPM is developed to display the measurement results with oscillation signal waveform (which indicates the patient’s heartbeat condition) on the computer screen where the results can be printed out for reference. The simulation results show the oscillation signal waveform, giving a comprehensive exposure in the application of non-invasive blood pressure measurement. The developed e-BPM is accurate in giving the measurement of pulse rate. In addition, for blood pressure measurements, the accuracy of the system is still acceptable by referring to the obtained mean values. However, some applied coefficients should be reviewed in order to improve the accuracy in performing the blood pressure measurement.