Noninvasive and nonocclusive determination of blood pressure using laser Doppler flowmetry

This report describes an approach determining blood pressure noninvasively without cuff. Regarding an elastic, fluid-filled tube as a model of an arterial segment, the solution of the Navier Stokes differential equations delivers a relation between the pressure and velocity pulse. There, simulations prove a minimal sensitivity of blood pressure concerning blood density, blood viscosity and damping. Hence, these parameters can be regarded interindividually as constants. Blood pressure is essentially sensitive on the pulse wave velocity, the velocity pulse, the arterial diameter and the reflection coefficient. To perform measurements, a system was built up comprising at least one laser Doppler blood flow sensor, a high performance DSP hardware and a PC. After individual initial Riva Rocci calibration, arterial diameter and reflection coefficient can be determined. Flow and pulse wave velocity and thus blood pressure can be calculated measuring continuously at least one velocity pulse with the laser Doppler flow sensor at a superficial artery like the a. radialis and simultaneously another cardiovascular signal like an ECG or another flow pulse at a different site of the artery. As a first result, high linear correlations between systolic blood pressure and pulse transit time were obtained.