Patent ID: 9737217
Date: 2017-08-22
CPC Classifications: A61B,G16H,Y02A

Claim:
1. An apparatus for assessment of endothelial function in a mammal comprising: a measurement cuff adapted to apply pressure to an artery in said mammal; a measurement unit adapted to detect and quantify, over one or more cardiac cycles, pressure pulses in said cuff while said pressure is applied; a controller that is adapted to apply to the cuff different pressures within a single time period (T a processor adapted to determine a plurality of baseline values for a parameter related to endothelial function as a function of applied pressure (P determine a measure proportional to the area of the arterial lumen calculated from the baseline pressure measurements as a function of transmural pressure P to determine a measure proportional to the area of the arterial lumen calculated from the stimulus-effected pressure measurements as a function of transmural pressure P to use said first function to calculate a measure proportional to baseline arterial lumen area (A to use said second function to calculate a measure proportional to stimulus-effected arterial lumen area (A to determine the equivalent ultrasound-based flow-mediated vasodilation (uFMD) where uFMD is proportional to the square root of the ratio A