Rapid non-invasive blood pressure measuring device

An apparatus comprising:

• a device for applying external pressure to an artery, the external pressure being such that the artery experiences a range of transmural pressures within a cardiac cycle;
• a processor adapted to identify an event occurring at a transmural pressure in said range of transmural pressures, the event being associated with a first time, the processor further adapted to determine the arterial pressure at a specific time;
• and
• an exciter to induce an oscillating component having a frequency greater than the pulsatile frequencies.

A method of determining arterial pressure, comprising:

• applying an external pressure to an artery, the external pressure being such that the artery experiences a range of transmural pressures within a cardiac cycle;
• identifying an event occurring at a transmural pressure in said range of transmural pressures, the event being associated with a first time, the arterial pressure at said first time not being a systolic or diastolic arterial pressure;
• and
• determining the arterial pressure at a specific time.

A method of determining arterial pressure, comprising:

• applying an external pressure to an artery, the external pressure being such that the artery experiences a range of transmural pressures within a cardiac cycle;
• inducing an oscillating component having a frequency greater than the pulsatile frequencies;
• identifying an event occurring at a transmural pressure in said range of transmural pressures, the event being associated with a first time;
• and
• determining the arterial pressure at a specific time.

A method of determining arterial pressure comprising:

• applying an external pressure to an artery, the external pressure being such that the artery experiences a range of transmural pressures within a cardiac cycle, a substantially constant external pressure being applied over a measurement period;
• identifying an event occurring at a transmural pressure in said range of transmural pressures, the event being associated with a first time;
• and
• determining the arterial pressure at a specific time without requiring data from outside the measurement period.

A method of determining arterial pressure, comprising:

• applying an external pressure to an artery, the external pressure being such that the artery experiences a range of transmural pressures within a cardiac cycle;
• identifying an event occurring at a transmural pressure in said range of transmural pressures, the event being associated with a first time;
• and
• determining the arterial pressure at a specific time without requiring data from outside the cardiac cycle.