Feeling the pressure: groundbreaking technique offers non-invasive alternative for continuous blood pressure monitoring
A recently patented technique – resonance sonomanometry – could provide a quick and easy method for obtaining continuous blood pressure (BP) readings.
A team of researchers at the California Institute of Technology (CA, USA) have recently devised a novel method for non-invasive BP monitoring. Performed using a small device developed by Esperto Medical (CA,USA), the technique termed resonance sonomanometry draws on a combination of first principles physics and ultrasound measurements to provide a continuous BP reading. This represents a significant breakthrough in the decades-long hunt for a simple and accurate way to provide full waveform BP readings in high-risk patients both at home and in the hospital.
With cardiovascular disease being the global leading cause of death, BP measurement remains one of the most crucial diagnostic tools. The current standard of care involves a cuff-style technique that can only be carried out periodically as it involves blood vessel obstruction.
To obtain a continuous BP reading, physicians must perform the invasive and sometimes risky procedure of inserting a catheter into the patient’s artery (known as an a-line). This provides the full waveform of the patient’s BP, which is often essential for the diagnosis and monitoring of certain cardiovascular conditions. Despite decades of searching, there are yet to be any non-invasive methods for continuous BP monitoring that haven’t been held back by problems such as low accuracy.
Resonance sonomanometry can provide a continuous BP measurement using a small device attached to an armband. The patient feels nothing more than a gentle buzzing sensation on the skin. The device uses sound waves to stimulate resonance in an artery and ultrasound imaging is used to measure the artery’s resonant frequency and dimensions.
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Much like plucking a taut piece of string, the frequency at which an artery resonates when exposed to ultrasound will vary depending on the pressure it contains, reflected in this case as blood pressure. This frequency is measured by the device, which can automatically locate the patient’s blood vessel without requiring manual repositioning.
“With this device you can measure blood pressure continuously and in different sites on the body, giving you much more information about the blood pressure of a person,” commented co-author Yaser Abu-Mostafa (California Institute of Technology).
The researchers hypothesize that with further development resonance sonomanometry technology could eventually solve the long-standing difficulties of continuous BP monitoring. The team aims for it to be initially rolled out in hospitals where it can connect to existing monitors, avoiding the difficult decision that doctors currently must make when weighing up whether they need to insert an artery-line to obtain sufficient BP readings. The researchers hope that this technique could eventually replace blood pressure cuffs entirely, making self-monitoring at home a more comfortable and simple process.
