Patent ID: 6843772
Filing Date: 2005-01-18
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for measuring an inferior-and-superior-limb blood-pressure index of a living subject, comprising: an inferior-limb blood-pressure measuring device which includes an inferior-limb cuff adapted to be wound around an inferior limb of the subject and measures a blood pressure of the inferior limb; a superior-limb blood-pressure measuring device which includes a superior-limb cuff adapted to be wound around a superior limb of the subject and measures a blood pressure of the superior limb; an inferior-and-superior-limb-blood-pressure-index determining means for determining the inferior-and-superior-limb blood-pressure index of the subject, based on the blood pressure of the inferior limb measured by the inferior-limb blood-pressure measuring device and the blood pressure of the superior limb measured by the superior-limb blood-pressure measuring device; an inferior-limb-pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related-information obtaining device which obtains inferior-limb-pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information that is related to a velocity at which an inferior-limb pulse wave propagates in a first portion of the subject that includes the inferior limb; an upper-half-body-pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related-information obtaining device which obtains upper-half-body-pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information that is related to a velocity at which an upper-half-body pulse wave propagates in a second portion of an upper half body of the subject; and an evaluation-information obtaining means for obtaining, based on comparison of the inferior-limb-pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information obtained by the inferior-limb-pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related-information obtaining device and the upper-half-body-pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information obtained by the upper-half-body-pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related-information obtaining device, evaluation information that is related to evaluation of reliability of the inferior-and-superior-limb blood-pressure index determined by the inferior-and-superior-limb-blood-pressure-index determining means.