A Finite Element Analysis of Local Oscillometric Blood Pressure Measurements

Traditional circumferential oscillometric blood pressure measurements are based on a complex interplay between the perturbed underlying artery and the surrounding tissue. When there is a balance in pressures acting across the arterial wall, the pulsation amplitude is expected to be a maximum. The purpose of this study was to examine the change in pulsation amplitude for a given pressure resulting from a focally applied compression. A non-linear, two- dimensional finite element analysis of an average fingerbase was used to determine the overall pressure distributions within the finger as well as to compare the feasibility of the focally applied oscillometric approach for blood pressure (BP) measurements. We found that the focally applied pressure appears to lead to only a slight underestimation of the BP (1.5 mmHg). Furthermore, it does not significantly inhibit global bloodflow and should therefore be an acceptable method for long-term blood pressure monitoring.