Inflatable cuff for blood pressure measurement
View Patent ↗An inflatable cuff for blood pressure measurement includes a first inflatable bag which is inflatable to press an arterial vessel of a body portion of a living subject and stop flow of blood in the arterial vessel which the inflatable cuff is adapted to be wound around the body portion; a second inflatable bag for sensing a pulse wave propagating along the arterial vessel, which is supported by the inflatable cuff such that the second inflatable bag is located inside a downstream-side portion of the first inflatable bag in the direction of the blood flows in the arterial vessel, and which has a dimension as measured in the direction that is smaller than a dimension of the first inflatable bag as measured in said direction; and a fluid-filled bag which is located between the second inflatable bag and the body portion and which is filled with incompressible fluid.
1. An inflatable cuff for blood pressure measurement, comprising:
a first inflatable bag adapted to be wound around a body portion of a living subject and inflatable to press an arterial vessel of the body portion and to stop flow of blood in the arterial vessel;
a second inflatable bag for sensing a pulse wave propagating along the arterial vessel, the second inflatable bag is supported by the inflatable cuff such that the second inflatable bag is located inside a downstream-side portion of the first inflatable bag as seen in the direction in which the blood flows in the arterial vessel, and which has a dimension as measured in said direction that is smaller than a dimension of the first inflatable bag as measured in said direction;
a fluid-filled bag that is adapted to be located between the second inflatable bag and the body portion and is filled with incompressible fluid; and
a shield plate that is located between the first inflatable bag and the second inflatable bag.
2. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the incompressible fluid is a liquid.
3. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the incompressible fluid is a gel.
4. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the fluid-filled bag has a size and is located such that the fluid-filled bag is present in a whole space between the second inflatable bag and the body portion of the living subject in a state that the inflatable cuff is wound around the body portion.
5. An apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the incompressible fluid is a liquid.
6. An apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the incompressible fluid is a gel.
7. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the fluid-filled bag has a size and is located such that the second inflatable bag and the fluid-filled bag are overlapped in a state that the inflatable cuff is would around the body portion.
8. An apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the incompressible fluid is a liquid.
9. An apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the incompressible fluid is a gel.
10. An inflatable cuff for blood pressure measurement, comprising:
a first inflatable bag to be wound around a body portion of a living subject and inflatable to press an arterial vessel of the body portion and to stop flow of blood in the arterial vessel;
a second inflatable bag for sensing a pulse wave propagating along the arterial vessel, the second inflatable bag is supported by the inflatable cuff such that the second inflatable bag is located inside a downstream-side portion of the first inflatable bag as seen in the direction in which the blood flows in the arterial vessel, and which has a dimension as measured in said direction that is smaller than a dimension of the first inflatable bag as measured in said direction;
a fluid-filled bag that is adapted to be located between the second inflatable bag and the body portion and is filled with incompressible fluid; and
a shield plate that is located between the first inflatable bag and the second inflatable bag, the shield plate overlapping only a portion of the first inflatable bag.
11. An apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the second inflatable bag, the fluid-filled bag and the shield plate are fixed together.
12. An apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the second inflatable bag, the fluid-filled bag and the shield plate are sewn together.
13. An apparatus according to claim 11 , further comprising a dividing member between the first inflatable bag and the shield plate.
14. An apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the diving member divides an internal space of the inflatable cuff into a first internal space and a second internal space.
15. An apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the first inflatable bag is housed in the first internal space and the second inflatable bag, the shield plate and the fluid-filled bag are housed in the second internal space.