New Blood Pressure Watch to Replace the Sphygmomanometer

Feb. 21, 2011 - PRLog -- For many people a visit to their GP or a health practice usually means having your blood pressure checked, especially when their blood pressure hasn't been checked for a while...cue that funny machine that inflates around your arm, which to many brings severe discomfort.

The machine is know as a sphygmomanometer, and has been the main piece of equipment used by all health practitioners for checking blood pressure for many decades, however recent studies show that a sphygmomanometer can be very inacurate, especially when it is not used correctly.

An inflatable rubber cuff is wrapped around the patients arm and inflated, it is then deflated and a blood pressure reading is obtained. However depending on how tight the rubber cuff is placed onto the arm in the first place, readings can vary. Guidelines for using a sphygmomanometer say that the cuff should be snug and not tight so this leaves plenty of room for error based on the operatives interpretation of these guidelines, and often a wrong reading can lead to a wrong diagnosis. Also a sphygmomanometer can only measure the actual blood pressure in the arm, hense is not able to identify more localised problems such as problems in the brain or heart.

So it comes as no surprise that finally a new device, which is in the shape of a wrist watch has been released and which is reported to be much more accurate.

The A-Pulse CASPro System has been manufacturered in collaboration with Leicester University and can measure the CASP (Central Aortic Systolic Pressure) as well as 'arterial pulse waveform related indices based on arterial tonometry at the radial artery of the wrist' according to HeathSTATS International the manufacturer.

Professor Bryan Williams of Leicester University, who was responsible for the research along with scientists from Singapore, said:  "It will change the way blood pressure has been monitored for more than a century" and expects the new devices to be operational in all GP surgeries and NHS hospitals within 3 years.

This comes after recent reports this week that the popularity of the Heart Rate Monitor watch was on the increase.

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