Skip to main content

A portable motion tolerant blood pressure monitor

This project has been secured to protect intellectual property.

Login for More Information

Project Overview

Blood pressure is a critical measurement to assess, for health professionals are able to determine an individual's vascular health based upon their systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Presently, the most commonly used instrument to measure blood pressure is a sphygmomanometer. This device measures blood pressure by attaching an inflatable cuff around the patients upper arm and using a bulb to manually inflate the cuff, which then collapses and releases the brachial artery. However, this instrument must be used in conjunction with a stethoscope in order for the clinician to be able to sense when the brachial artery is initially released (systolic) and when the pressure against the arterial wall can no longer be sensed (diastolic). This blood pressure is then measured on a mercury manometer. Electrical sphygmomanometers are also commonly used to measure a patient's blood pressure; however, both instruments are rather bulky and are ineffective in providing a healthcare professional with regular updates on a patients instantaneous blood pressure. Also, this method is not feasible in loud environments or when the patient is moving. Therefore, the scope of our project is to be able to create a blood pressure sensor that can accurately and regularly measure a patient’s blood pressure in loud and motion-heavy environments while reducing the effective size of the product. This design would enable healthcare professionals to be able to acquire a patient’s blood pressure instantly and frequently without having to work around a sphygmomanometer, which would be crucial for emergency medical transports of patients with massive blood loss (hypotension) or cardiac arrest/ stroke (hypertension). It could also be used in the wearables industry or for military purposes. Last semesters main goal was to be able to identify blood pressure in a variety of different noisy environments. The ability to recognize a signal in noisy environments would set this instrument apart from its competitors. Last semester was mostly focused on testing while still, with sound and with motion. Standard deviation of these tests increased from former to latter. The control data exhibited similar numbers to the stethoscope.

Team Picture

Team members from left to right: Michael Giordano, Owen Seymour, Patrick Kasl, Jacob Mundale
Team members from left to right: Michael Giordano, Owen Seymour, Patrick Kasl, Jacob Mundale

Contact Information

Team Members

  • Jacob Mundale - Team Leader
  • Owen Seymour - Communicator
  • Patrick Kasl - BSAC & BPAG
  • Michael Giordano - BWIG

Advisor and Client

  • Dr. Ed Bersu - Advisor
  • Dr. Dennis Bahr - Client

Related Projects

Back to Top