Patent Application
20070073173
The present invention relates generally to blood pressure monitoring devices. More specifically, the invention hereof relates to a conventional prolific device such as a cell phone or computer mouse controller which incorporates a blood pressure cuff for monitoring blood pressure and displaying measured data either at the computer with which the mouse is associated or on the cell phone or computer display to which the wrist cuff is connected. Such data display provides an easily understood representation of the measured parameters.
Hypertension is one of modern society's most insidious diseases. Left untreated, it causes life-threatening problems including atherosclerosis, strokes and aneurysms. Long-term hypertension can result in diminished cardio-vascular and kidney function. Yet while high blood pressure is one of the simplest problems to detect in an entirely non-invasive process, it is all too commonly undetected in a large portion of the population. In the past twenty years or so, with the advent of low-cost microprocessor chips and miniature digital electronics and electromagnetic devices, the self-measurement of blood pressure by non-medical personnel has become more readily available. Nevertheless, blood pressure sphygmomanometers are still too sophisticated for a large segment of the population. Even those who are entirely capable of operating such devices tend to put them away in drawers and other out of the way places where they often remain mostly forgotten and unused.
It would be highly advantageous to the early detection of hypertension and thus to the general health of the population if there were a way to provide prolific availability of blood pressure monitoring devices that were readily accessible and even easier to use than currently available digital sphygmomanometers. Having a blood pressure sphygmomanometer at virtually every computer or cell phone with a pressure cuff always immediately adjacent to each such computer or cell phone, would go a long way to serving such an advantageous function. Such is the purpose of the present invention.
The present invention combines the blood pressure sphygmomanometer with the most commonly available devices of the modem world, the computer mouse and the cell phone. Moreover, the invention incorporates the sphygmomanometer cuff into the computer mouse in a manner which makes it extremely simple and convenient to initiate and carry out the blood pressure measurement process. Three alternative mouse embodiments are illustrated and discussed herein. In one such embodiment the sphygmomanometer cuff is nominally positioned within the mouse structure and is extended outside the mouse housing during the measurement. In another embodiment, the cuff is always external of the mouse structure and is easily connected to the mouse at special ports during the measurement. In yet another embodiment, the cuff is always internal of the mouse structure and is readily accessible through an aperture in the housing surface of the mouse to permit the measurement to take place. Preferably, in each of these alternative embodiments a hinged or slidable door or panel protects the cuff or cuff ports between measurements. In the cell phone embodiment, a wrist cuff and its associated pump, sensor and valve are connected to the cell phone which has received associated software. In yet another embodiment, a pressure cuff and associated components are connected directly to a computer. In all of the embodiments shown herein, the sphygmomanometer cuff is configured for receiving a human finger or wrist in circumambient pressured engagement using controlled air pressure to vary the cuff engagement pressure in a precise manner.
In a well-known manner used in blood pressure sphygmomanometers of all kinds, the pressure of the cuff/finger engagement is initially increased until arterial vessel pulsation is beyond cutoff (total occlusion of the artery). The cuff pressure is then slowly decreased until first detection of arterial vessel pulsation (commonly known as Korotkoff Phase I). The corresponding cuff pressure at this point will be substantially equal to systolic blood pressure which is one significant parameter to be monitored. As cuff pressure continues to be decreased, arterial vessel pulsations will eventually become undetectable through the cuff because of the lack of adequate cuff pressure to sense those pulsations (commonly known as Korotkoff Phase V). The pressure of the cuff at this point will be substantially equal to diastolic blood pressure which is another significant parameter to be monitored. Moreover, the frequency of pulsations sensed between the systolic and diastolic pressures is measured and will be substantially equal to the heartbeat rate or pulse rate which is also a parameter of some significance to be monitored. These two cuff pressures and the pulsation frequency are the measured parameter data of the process and corresponding digital data are sent to the computer to which the mouse controller is associated.
Computer software, to be described herein, can then utilize this digital data (typically in binary form) to create a suitable display of the measured parameters on the computer's monitor. Other functions can also be carried out such as recording the data, graphically plotting data over numerous measurements and communicating the data to others such as by means of the internet for example by e-mail to pre-assigned medical personnel.
The principal advantage of the present invention is therefore clearly the proliferation of a simple and convenient way for the great number of computer and cell phone users to have the benefits of frequent blood pressure monitoring. Moreover, because the computer mouse can normally be readily replaced in existing computers, this clearly beneficial health-related device can be enjoyed by substantially every computer user and his or her family with relatively little investment. Moreover, virtually any cell phone user will ultimately be able to easily monitor and record his or her blood pressure and pulse rate by simply placing a wrist cuff on their wrist and connect it to their cell phone. Society as a whole will benefit from the likely increase in the early detection of hypertension and the resulting timely treatment thereof and prevention of related diseases.
The various embodiments, features and advances of the present invention will be understood more completely hereinafter as a result of a detailed description thereof in which reference will be made to the following drawings:
Referring to the accompanying figures and to
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The sphygmomanometer 21 including pressure cuff assembly 18 is shown in
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It will now be understood that the present invention provides a novel, convenient way of measuring and tracking health-based parameters by utilizing either a modified computer mouse controller that facilitates obtaining such parameters at virtually every computer or a cell phone and wrist cuff combination that facilitates measurement of such parameters using otherwise conventional cell phones.. While various alternative embodiments have been disclosed herein, other variations will now be perceived by those having the benefit of the description herein. Accordingly, the scope hereof is not limited by the illustrative features described herein, but only by the appended claims and their equivalents.
This application takes priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/720,845 filed Sep. 27, 2005.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60720845 | Sep 2005 | US |
