System and method for a non-invasive blood pressure measurement

A method of measuring blood pressure of a patient, the method comprising steps of:

• inflating a blood pressure cuff to a user selectable target pressure;
• varying the pressure in the blood pressure cuff in a stepwise manner by a predetermined pressure amount;
• identifying at each pressure step in a first sequence of alternate steps of the cuff pressure variation, the occurrence of at least two successive sets of oscillometric pulses with a predetermined amplitude and time rate of change criteria relative to one another;
• identifying at each pressure step in a second sequence of alternate steps of the cuff pressure variation, the occurrence of a single oscillometric pulse;
• predicting the termination of the variation of the pressure in the blood pressure cuff;
• and
• determining one or more blood pressure parameters of the patient based upon the oscillometric pulses detected.

A computer readable storage medium with plurality of program instructions for execution by a processor of an NIBP monitor, so as to monitor blood pressure parameters in a patient, the plurality of program instructions including:

• a routine for obtaining pressure data comprising an oscillatory component and a transient baseline effects component, wherein the routine for obtaining pressure data comprises a routine for inflating a blood pressure cuff to a user selectable target pressure;
• a routine for deflating the pressure in the blood pressure cuff in a stepwise manner by a predetermined pressure amount, a routine for identifying at each pressure step in a first sequence of alternate steps of the cuff pressure variation, the occurrence of multiple oscillometric pulses;
• a routine for identifying at each pressure step in a second sequence of alternate steps of the cuff pressure variation, the occurrence of a single oscillometric pulse and a routine for predicting the termination of the deflation of the blood pressure cuff;
• a routine for constructing a waveform of the pressure data;
• a routine for selecting a plurality of data points acquired from the waveform of the pressure data;
• a routine for generating a non-linear transient baseline effects model based on the plurality of selected data points;
• a routine for implementing the non-linear transient baseline effects model to at least partially deduct the transient baseline effects component from the pressure data such that substantially only the oscillatory component remains;
• and
• a routine for generating an estimate of the blood pressure parameters based on the oscillatory component of the pressure data, wherein the removal of the transient baseline effects component from the pressure data eliminates a potential source of error and thereby enhances accuracy of the estimated blood pressure parameters.