Beat-by-Beat Blood Pressure Analysis With Wrist Motion Attribution

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing blood pressure measuring devices struggle to distinguish between variations caused by changes in wrist-heart height difference and abnormal cardiovascular events, leading to inaccurate diagnosis.

Innovation Solution

A blood pressure analyzing apparatus that determines whether blood pressure variations are due to wrist movement or other factors by comparing blood pressure information from consecutive beats and wrist movement data, using a blood pressure variation determiner and a blood pressure variation cause determiner to associate the cause with the recorded data.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If blood pressure is measured continuously for every beat, then small blood pressure variations can be detected, but it becomes impossible to distinguish between variations caused by wrist movement and those caused by cardiovascular events

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveblood pressure variation detectionVSAvoidcause determination accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the blood pressure measurement system into multiple independent components: a pulse wave detection unit that measures blood pressure for every beat, and a wrist movement detection unit that separately monitors wrist position. By dividing the monitoring function into these separate segments, the system can independently analyze each data stream and determine whether blood pressure variations correlate with wrist movements, thereby resolving the contradiction between detection precision and cause determination reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Productivity

If blood pressure is measured at long intervals (several hours), then measurement frequency is reduced, but large blood pressure variations occurring between measurements cannot be detected

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemeasurement frequencyVSAvoidblood pressure variation data
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements continuous useful action by measuring pulse waves for every cardiac beat without interruption. This continuous measurement approach ensures that no blood pressure variations are missed, capturing both small gradual changes and large sudden variations. The system maintains uninterrupted monitoring while using automated analysis to process the continuous data stream efficiently.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #20Continuity of useful action

3Reliability

If wrist movement detection is added to distinguish movement-induced variations from cardiovascular events, then cause determination accuracy improves, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecause determination accuracyVSAvoidsystem structure
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies multi-functionality by using a single wrist-mounted device to perform multiple functions: detecting pulse waves for blood pressure measurement, detecting wrist movements for cause determination, and automatically analyzing the correlation between these two data streams. This universal approach consolidates multiple functions into one device, improving cause determination accuracy while minimizing the increase in overall system complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP3335628B1Blood pressure analyzing device, blood pressure measuring device, blood pressure analyzing method, and blood pressure analyzing program
Publication Date: 2025.12.24 OMRON HEALTHCARE CO LTD
  • EP3335628B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3335628B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3335628B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Provided are a blood pressure analyzing apparatus, a blood pressure measuring apparatus, a blood pressure analyzing method and a blood pressure analyzing program, which can accurately determine a cause of a blood pressure variation useful for diagnosis. The blood pressure analyzing apparatus 2 determines whether, of blood pressure information corresponding to a plurality of beats which are calculated for every beat based on pulse waves detected from a wrist of a subject and which are recorded into a recording medium 14 that records the blood pressure information corresponding to the plurality of beats and wrist move information detected by an acceleration sensor 12 during a detection period of the pulse waves serving as a calculation source of the blood pressure information corresponding to the plurality of beats, first blood pressure information corresponding to an arbitrary beat varies a threshold TH1 or more from second blood pressure information corresponding to a previous beat to the arbitrary beat or not. When a result of the determination is YES, the blood pressure analyzing apparatus 2 determines whether the blood pressure variation is caused by the move of the wrist or by another reason than the move of the wrist, based on detection information of the acceleration sensor which is detected in a detection period of a pulse wave serving as a calculation source of the first blood pressure information. The blood pressure analyzing apparatus 2 records, into a recording medium 23, a result of the determination and the first blood pressure information in association with each other.