[Paper Review] An intelligent system for continuous blood pressure monitoring on remote multi-patients in real time

Roberto Marani, Anna Gina Perri|arXiv (Cornell University)|Dec 4, 2012

Blood Pressure and Hypertension Studies14 references3 citations

TL;DR

This paper presents an intelligent, non-invasive blood pressure monitoring system based on the oscillometric method, using a microcontroller and Sallen-Key active filter to continuously measure systolic and diastolic pressures in real time. The system enables remote, simultaneous monitoring of multiple patients via wireless transmission to a central computer, offering high automation, simplicity, and reliability for clinical use.

ABSTRACT

In this paper we present an electronic system to perform a non-invasive measurement of the blood pressure based on the oscillometric method, which does not suffer from the limitations of the well-known auscultatory one. Moreover the proposed system is able to evaluate both the systolic and diastolic blood pressure values and makes use of a microcontroller and a Sallen-Key active filter. With reference to other similar devices, a great improvement of our measurement system is achieved since it performs the transmission of the systolic and diastolic pressure values to a remote computer. This aspect is very important when the simultaneous monitoring of multi-patients is required. The proposed system, prototyped and tested at the Electron Devices Laboratory (Electrical and Information Engineering Department) of Polytechnic University of Bari, Italy, is characterized by originality, by plainness of use and by a very high level of automation (so called intelligent system).

Motivation & Objective

• To develop a non-invasive, continuous blood pressure monitoring system that overcomes limitations of traditional auscultatory methods.
• To enable real-time transmission of systolic and diastolic blood pressure values to a remote computer for multi-patient monitoring.
• To design a highly automated, user-friendly system with minimal manual intervention using embedded microcontroller and active filtering.
• To ensure reliable and accurate blood pressure measurement through advanced signal processing and filtering techniques.
• To prototype and validate the system in a clinical laboratory setting for practical deployment.

Proposed method

• The system employs the oscillometric method to detect blood pressure from arterial pulse wave oscillations in a sphygmomanometer cuff.
• A microcontroller processes the raw oscillometric signals and computes systolic and diastolic pressure values.
• A Sallen-Key active filter is used to condition the analog signal, reducing noise and enhancing signal fidelity.
• The system digitizes and transmits the processed blood pressure data in real time to a remote computer via a wireless communication interface.
• The entire system is designed for high automation, minimizing user input and ensuring consistent operation.
• The prototype was tested at the Electron Devices Laboratory, Polytechnic University of Bari, Italy, under controlled conditions.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 Can an intelligent, non-invasive system accurately measure continuous blood pressure using the oscillometric method?
• RQ2 How effectively can such a system enable real-time, remote monitoring of multiple patients simultaneously?
• RQ3 To what extent does the integration of a microcontroller and Sallen-Key filter improve signal quality and measurement reliability?
• RQ4 How does the system’s automation level compare to conventional blood pressure monitors in clinical settings?
• RQ5 What is the feasibility of deploying such a system in real-world multi-patient healthcare environments?

Key findings

• The system successfully measures both systolic and diastolic blood pressure values using the oscillometric method, avoiding the subjectivity of auscultatory techniques.
• The integration of a microcontroller and Sallen-Key active filter significantly improves signal-to-noise ratio and measurement accuracy.
• Real-time transmission of blood pressure data to a remote computer enables continuous, centralized monitoring of multiple patients.
• The system demonstrates high levels of automation, reducing user dependency and operational errors.
• The prototype was validated in a laboratory environment, confirming its functionality and reliability for multi-patient applications.
• The system is characterized by simplicity of use, originality, and scalability for clinical deployment.