Glow blood pressure sets

A blood pressure set allow for the reading of blood pressures to determine the medical condition of a patient. However, in certain situations, it is inconvenient or sometimes impossible to read the pressure readings on the gauge. For instance, in a dark hospital room where the patient is sleeping, it is necessary to turn on the light and read the gauge causing inconvenience or in an outside emergency at night, due to poor lighting, the gauge is impossible to read. Here, a blood pressure set is described which allows for easy reading of the gauge in dark conditions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to the field of blood pressure sets. In 
particular, the invention relates to a gauge face plate of the blood 
pressure set that is photoluminescent. 
2. Description of the Related Art 
Blood pressure is a pressure exerted by the blood on the walls of the 
arteries in which the pressure is dependent on the action of the heart. 
This blood pressure could be measured if a gauge were to be inserted 
anywhere along the arteries of the person's body. Such reading is 
desirable in that one could determine whether the person being measured 
has a high blood pressure or a low blood pressure and thus determining the 
medical condition of the person. In other situations, for instance, in an 
emergency, a reading of the blood pressure could readily determine if the 
blood had been lost through hemorrhage. Normally, there are two blood 
pressures that are read. One is measured during the contraction of the 
heart which is the higher one and is called systolic or maximum pressure. 
The other pressure is measured during the dilatation of the heart which is 
the lower pressure called diastolic pressure. 
While conventional blood pressure sets allow for the readings of these two 
blood pressures, in certain situations, it is inconvenient or sometimes 
impossible to read the pressure readings on the gauge. For instance, in a 
dark hospital room where the patient is sleeping, it is necessary to turn 
on the light to read the gauge and obtain the blood pressure readings. 
This results in the patient being exposed to unnecessary lighting causing 
inconvenience. In another situation, blood pressures may have to be 
measured in an emergency, such as a car accident victim at night. However, 
due to the poor lighting, the readings on the gauge face plate may not be 
readable without additional light. 
One prior method involves marking the numbers on the face plate of a device 
such as a wristwatch with a fluorescent ink. However, such method is 
undesirable because the light emitted in the darkness is far from 
satisfactory due to low brilliance and quick decay of the light emission. 
In some cases, the fluorescent ink does not work at all in a dark room or 
outside on a dark night. Accordingly, there is a need for a blood pressure 
set that allows for the easy reading of the face plate of the gauge in 
dark situations, such as dark hospital rooms or emergencies at night. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention pertains to a blood pressure set with the entire face 
plate of the gauge being treated with a photoluminescent material so that 
the entire gauge face plate glows in the dark. This allows medical 
personnel to easily read the blood pressures of the patient in both a dark 
hospital room or outside at night in emergency situations without using 
additional light. Photoluminescent material is a material which absorbs 
and stores light energy when excited by natural or artificial light, such 
as sunlight or fluorescent light. Once excited, it will gradually and 
continuously release absorbed energy in the form of light emissions for a 
certain period of time after the exciting sources have been removed. The 
process can be repeated several times without a change in the property of 
the material. When the entire face plate of the gauge is treated with a 
photoluminescent material, the glow of the entire gauge face plate will 
greatly aid medical personnel in taking a patient's blood pressure without 
disturbing the patient in a hospital room or in an emergency situation 
where there is no lighting. Other aspects and advantages of the invention 
will become apparent from the following more detailed description taken in 
conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
As shown in the drawings for the purposes of illustration, the present 
invention pertains to blood pressure sets. FIGS. 1-2 illustrate examples 
of blood pressure sets, however, it will be understood by one skilled in 
the art from reading the disclosure that the invention may be practiced 
with any type of blood pressure sets. 
FIG. 1 shows an exemplary blood pressure set. Typically, a blood pressure 
set includes an aneroid embedded in a cuff 2 wherein the cuff 2 is 
fastened about the arm. The cuff 2 is inflatable to assert pressure on the 
artery within the arm resulting in the aneroid measuring the blood 
pressure in the artery. Two tubes 8, 10 protrude from the cuff 2 whereby 
one tube 8 is connected to a bulb 4 for inflating the cuff 2. The bulb is 
only one means of inflating the cuff and other means may be used such as 
an air compressor. The other tube 10 is connected to a gauge 6 for the 
blood pressure readout of the patient. In this example, the gauge is a 
dial gauge with the readings indicated by an indicator needle. 
FIG. 2 illustrates another exemplary blood pressure set. In this instance, 
the blood pressure set is known as a desktop mercurial sphygmomanometer. 
Like the blood pressure set above, the mercurial sphygmomanometer has an 
aneroid within a cuff 12 with two tubes 22, 24 protruding wherein one tube 
22 is connected to a bulb 14. Instead of a dial gauge, the mercurial 
sphygmomanometer utilizes a tube 18 containing a calibrated liquid such as 
mercury 20 to which the other tube 24 is connected. The tube 18 is 
supported by the face plate 16. The blood pressure measured by the aneroid 
causes the calibrated liquid 20 in the tube 18 to raise up corresponding 
to the measured blood pressure. 
FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the present invention. The shaded area 38 on 
the face of the gauge 36 depicts a coating of photoluminescent material. 
Photoluminescent material is a material which absorbs and stores light 
energy when shined upon by natural or artificial light sources, such as 
sunlight or fluorescent light. Once excited, it will gradually and 
continuously release absorbed energy as of visible rays for a long time 
period of time after the exciting sources are removed. This process can be 
repeated many times without perceivable changes of its own properties. 
Typically, photoluminescent materials emit a yellowish-green glow. 
However, other colors in the range of daylight are available, examples 
being, yellow, orange, orange-yellow, red, pink, rose, blue and so forth. 
In the exemplary blood pressure set, the photoluminescent material is 
coated over the gauge face plate with the numerals and graduations already 
imprinted on the face plate. The coating may be sprayed unto the face 
plate or by other similar methods used in applying paint to a surface. The 
photoluminescent material is substantially transparent, and thus, 
transparency is dependent on the thickness of the coating. However, the 
longevity of the glow is dependent on the particle size, pigment 
concentration and film thickness. Therefore, the applicable thickness of 
the coating is a balance between the desired clarity of the numerals and 
graduations, and the desired longevity of the glow. One skilled in the art 
would select the appropriate thickness according to the fitness of the 
particular use. 
In one instance, a photoluminescent material such as zinc sulfate is used. 
In another instance, a material such as Superglow SG05 manufactured by HJ 
Group, Inc. is used. Superglow SG05 is a photoluminescent material which 
includes a rare earth element. The characteristic of Superglow SG05 is 
such that when illuminated for about 10 minutes by a light source such as 
a 15 watt fluorescent lamp, it can continuously emit light for about 20 
hours at a visible luminescent after the light source is removed, 
gradually attenuating. 
In another instance, an aluminum oxide base photoluminescent material, such 
as Luminova, from United Mineral & Chemical Corporation is used. When the 
photoluminescent material is applied on the entire face plate of the 
gauge, the full surface of the gauge face plate glows in the dark enabling 
medical personnel to easily read the blood pressures of the patient in 
both outside night emergency situations as well as dark hospital rooms 
without added light. 
Referring to FIG. 4, if a luminescent ink was used to paint the numbers 57 
on the face plate 56 of the desk top mercurial sphygmomanometer, one would 
not be able to see the rise and fall of the calibrated liquid 60 within 
the tube 58 in dark situations. However, if the whole face plate 56 was 
treated with a photoluminescent material depicted by shading, the glow of 
the face plate 56 would allow easy readings of blood pressures in the 
dark. 
It will be appreciated that although a present embodiment of the invention 
has been described in detail by way of example, various modifications may 
be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, 
which should not be limited except as by the accompanying claims.