# US 10,307,068 B2 · Systems and methods for timing measurements in a non-invasive blood pressure measurement system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,307,068 B2 - Document ID: US10307068B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/638,413 - Filed: 2015-03-04 - Published: 2015-10-01 - Granted: 2019-06-04 - Earliest claimed: 2014-03-25 - Assignees: Drägerwerk AG & Co. KGaA - Applicants: DräGerwerk AG & Co. Kgaa - Inventors: Evan Damiano - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10307068B2 ## CPC - A61B 5/02225: {using the oscillometric method} - G16H 10/60: for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records - G16H 40/63: for local operation - A61B 5/0235: Valves specially adapted therefor - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) - G16H: HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA ## Abstract Disclosed are systems and methods for timing measurements in a non-invasive blood pressure measurement system. The systems and methods are capable of providing measurement results according to patient-specific time intervals. The disclosed systems may include a pump unit, signal acquisition circuit, user interface, clock, memory, microprocessor, power unit and communications module. The disclosed invention also contains a method for calculating an expected measurement duration. Additionally systems and methods for providing blood pressure results according to patient-specific time intervals using an expected measurement duration are discussed. Related apparatus, systems, methods and or/articles are described. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A non-invasive blood pressure measurement system comprising: a pump unit comprising at least one of a pressure transducer, an air pressure source, at least one air duct, at least one deflate valve, at least one inflate valve, or an exhaust, the pump unit configured to acquire a cuff pressure signal using an inflatable cuff coupled thereto; a signal acquisition circuit configured to generate an oscillometric signal from the cuff pressure signal; and a microprocessor operatively coupled to the pump unit and the signal acquisition circuit; wherein the microprocessor: receives a patient-specific time interval for obtaining measurement results based on a desired time interval input into a user interface; obtains an expected measurement duration based on an arithmetic average value of a plurality of previous measurement durations; calculates a pre-start time corresponding to a difference between the desired time interval indicated by the patient-specific time interval and the expected measurement duration; and sends a signal at the pre-start time to inflate or deflate the inflatable cuff to start a non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) measurement using the pump unit and the signal acquisition circuit; wherein: the patient-specific time interval comprises a desired time difference between consecutive blood pressure measurements; the expected measurement duration comprises an expected amount of time required to obtain the NIBP measurement; and the inflatable cuff inflates or deflates based on the signal. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, further comprising memory configured to store the cuff pressure signal, the oscillometric signal, the patient-specific time interval, and the expected measurement duration, wherein the memory is operatively coupled to the microprocessor. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The system of claim 2, further comprising the microprocessor calculating the expected measurement duration based on information from the memory. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, further comprising a clock configured to measure and provide a time, wherein the clock is operatively coupled to the microprocessor. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the cuff pressure signal and the oscillometric signal are obtained using a non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) measurement method. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, further comprising the user interface capable of receiving the patient-specific time interval. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor is configured to convert the patient-specific time interval into a unit of time corresponding to that used by a clock. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, further comprising a communication module comprising an Ethernet connection, a Wireless Local Area Network connection, or a Wireless Wide Area Network connection, the communication module configured to receive and transmit wireless signals and wired signals. ### Claim 9 (depends on 2) The system of claim 2, further comprising a communication module configured to transmit information stored in the memory to a remote database and a monitoring station. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the system is a stationary blood pressure monitoring system. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the system is an ambulatory blood pressure monitoring system. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein a blood pressure measurement comprises at least one of a systolic pressure, a diastolic pressure and a mean arterial blood pressure. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, further comprising a power unit configured to provide power to the system using at least one of a battery and a connection to a wall AC unit. ### Claim 14 A patient monitoring system comprising: a patient monitor capable of receiving and displaying physiological parameters; and a non-invasive blood pressure measurement system comprising: a pump unit comprising at least one of a pressure transducer, an air pressure source, at least one air duct, at least one deflate valve, at least one inflate valve, or an exhaust, the pump unit configured to acquire a cuff pressure signal using an inflatable cuff coupled thereto; a signal acquisition circuit configured to generate an oscillometric signal from the cuff pressure signal; and a microprocessor operatively coupled to the pump unit and the signal acquisition circuit; wherein the microprocessor: receives a patient-specific time interval for obtaining measurement results based on a desired time interval input into a user interface; obtains an expected measurement duration based on an arithmetic average value of a plurality of previous measurement durations; calculates a pre-start time corresponding to a difference between the desired time interval indicated by the patient-specific time interval and the expected measurement duration; and sends a signal at the pre-start time to inflate or deflate the inflatable cuff to start a non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) measurement using the pump unit and the signal acquisition circuit at the pre start time; wherein: the patient-specific time interval comprises a desired time difference between consecutive blood pressure measurements; the expected measurement duration comprises an expected amount of time required to obtain the NIBP measurement; and the inflatable cuff inflates or deflates based on the signal. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The system of claim 14, wherein the non-invasive blood pressure measurement system further comprises memory operatively coupled to the microprocessor and configured to store the cuff pressure signal, the oscillometric signal, the patient-specific time interval, and the expected measurement duration. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The system of claim 15, wherein the microprocessor calculates the expected measurement duration based on information from the memory. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The system of claim 15, further comprising a communication module comprising an Ethernet connection, a Wireless Local Area Network connection, or a Wireless Wide Area Network connection, the communication module configured to transmit information stored in the memory to a remote database and a monitoring station. ### Claim 18 A system for obtaining measurements at patient-specific times in an oscillometric blood pressure monitoring system, comprising: means for receiving a patient-specific time interval for obtaining measurement results from a user via a user interface; means for obtaining an expected measurement duration based on an arithmetic average value of a plurality of previous measurement durations; means for calculating a pre-start time corresponding to a difference between the desired time interval indicated by the patient-specific time interval and the expected measurement duration; and means for sending a signal at the pre-start time to inflate or deflate an inflatable cuff to start a non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) measurement; wherein: the patient-specific time interval comprises a desired time difference between consecutive blood pressure measurements; the expected measurement duration comprises an expected amount of time required to obtain the NIBP measurement; and the inflatable cuff inflates or deflates based on the signal. ### Claim 19 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of previous measurement durations falls within a predefined acceptable range of values. ### Claim 20 A non-invasive blood pressure measurement system comprising: a pump unit comprising at least one of a pressure transducer, an air pressure source, at least one air duct, at least one deflate valve, at least one inflate valve, or an exhaust, the pump unit configured to acquire a cuff pressure signal using an inflatable cuff coupled thereto; a signal acquisition circuit configured to generate an oscillometric signal from the cuff pressure signal; and a microprocessor operatively coupled to the pump unit and the signal acquisition circuit; wherein the microprocessor: receives a patient-specific time interval for obtaining measurement results based on a desired time interval input into a user interface; obtains an expected measurement duration based on an arithmetic average value of a plurality of previous measurement durations; calculates a pre-start time for sending a signal to inflate or deflate the inflatable cuff to start a non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) measurement using the pump unit, the pre-start time being determined by subtracting the expected measurement duration from a time obtained by adding the desired time interval indicated by the patient specific time interval to a time when the cuff pressure signal is last acquired during an immediately preceding NIBP measurement using the pump unit; sends the signal at the pre-start time to inflate or deflate the inflatable cuff to start the NIBP measurement using the pump unit and the signal acquisition circuit; wherein: the patient-specific time interval comprises a desired time difference between consecutive blood pressure measurements; the expected measurement duration comprises an expected amount of time required to obtain the NIBP measurement; and the inflatable cuff inflates or deflates based on the signal.