Portable automatic sphygmomanometer with monitoring and classification of the physical activity of a patient by means of fuzzy logics processing

Abstract: A pressure holter by oscillometric detection for acquiring and recording maximum and minimum values of arterial pressure, is provided with means of detection and classification of the movement producing an index of the current state of physical exertion in coincidence with the readings of minimum and maximum arterial pressure and with means managing the blood pressure measurements, controlling the execution of the holter functions and of fuzzy logic processing of the readings. A sensor of the internal air pressure of inflation of a pneumatic constriction sleeve worn on an arm of the subject is exploited for detecting movements of the arm and at least a second sensor of movement, fixed to the bust of the patient, is employed.

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates in general to noninvasive method and instruments for measuring blood pressure and in particular to a pressure holter, that is an automatic sphygmomanometer, that can be worn by a patient for monitoring his blood pressure during prolonged periods while conducting normal daily activities. Blood pressure is subject to continuous variations tied to several factors: age, sex, environment, season, temperature, altitude, and the like. Moreover, blood pressure of a subject may vary during the day because of many contingent factors: posture, respiration, state of muscular and/or cerebral activity. In particular, physical exertion may cause great increases of blood pressure. Significative variations of blood pressure due to other factors than those noted above, may be syntomatic of a malfunctioning of the circulatory system and/or of the heart. For these reasons, it is useful to check the blood pressure throughout the whole day in order to study the magnitude of the variations and the presence of possible anomalies. For these reasons, so-called blood pressure holters are widely used. These portable instruments are automatic sphygmomanometers easy use and of minimum size which, worn by the patient, measure the blood pressure at preset intervals of time. A limitation of these portable instruments is primarily tied to the difficulty of associating the measured value of blood pressure to the current conditions of the patient at the time of the measurement. The document EP-A-0 967 554 discloses a method and an automatic apparatus for measuring and analyzing a physical quantity of interest, in particular diastolic and systolic pressure, the mechanical actions of which and the assessment of diastolic and of systolic pressure are controlled and executed by a fuzzy logic processor. The document DE-A-19832361 discloses an apparatus for monitoring biomedical and biochemical parameters including oxygen saturation of the blood, breathing frequency, skin temperature, in function of acceleration of the trunk of a person along the three spatial Cartesian axis. Not knowing the actual conditions at the time of measurement, the recorded reading may be wrongly interpreted and it is impossible to find out recognize the magnitude of these errors. OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is evident the need and/or utility of a blood pressure holter capable of assessing the conditions that may influence the measured values of blood pressure and in particular the state of physical exertion of the patient because of the strong influence that it has on arterial pressure. The object of the invention is to provide an "intelligent" instrument more reliable in terms of the data it provides and moreover capable of automatically managing the measurement operations. To these requisites provides an excellent solution the new blood pressure holter system of the invention that includes a system of classification of the current state of physical exertion, as detected by one or more movement sensors and based on a fuzzy logic processing according to predefined algorithms. According to another important aspect of the system of the invention, the inflating/deflating of the constricting pneumatic sleeve as well as the processing of the signal generated by the pressure sensor for calculating the maximum and minimum arterial pressures are coordinated by the on-board fuzzy logic micro controller. In this way, the inflating of the sleeve are made less traumatic for the patient while the determination of the maximum and minimum values of the blood pressure is carried out in a substantially identical manner a doctor would do manually. This by virtue of the intrinsic peculiarity of controlling the inflating/deflating of the sleeve and of processing the pressure signal carried out according to fuzzy logic algorithm of the system of this invention. Besides correlating the blood pressure measurements with corresponding evaluation data of the state of exertion of the patient at the moment of the measurement, the instrument of the invention may optionally self-program itself by exploiting the information on the current physical activity even to time the carrying out of new pressure measurements. For example, in order to avoid spurious measurements if the patient is doing a particularly intense physical activity, a scheduled measurement may be automatically postponed by the holter system of the invention. By contrast, by checking the results of most recent blood pressure readings, if anomalies are detected, the holter system of the invention may autonomously decide to increase the frequency of measurements. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a functional block diagram of a blood pressure holter of the invention. Figure 2 is a time diagram of a typical pressure signal detected during a measurement. Figure 3 is an architectural scheme of the device of the invention. Figure 4 is a diagram showing the pressure variations corresponding to heart pulsations. Figure 5 is a functional diagram of the classification system of the physical activity being carried out by the patient. Figure 6 is a diagram of the amplitude of arterial pulsations during an inflating phase of the constriction sleeve. Figure 7 is a flow chart of the algorithm of management of the inflation and deflation of the sleeve. Figure 8 shows the arterial pulsations during a phase of deflation of the constriction sleeve. Figure 9 is a flow chart of the algorithms of evaluation of the maximum and minimum arterial pressure. Figures 10, 11, 12 and 13 are electrical diagrams of implementations of the control, amplification and filtering unit, of the memory and data transfer unit, of the drive and control circuit of the motors and of the valves and of the interfacing keyboard and display, respectively. DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION The functional block diagram of the instrument of the invention is shown in Figure 1. It consists of five main functional blocks. Block A It constitutes the I/O interface of the system. Its function is to permit the introduction of the data necessary for managing the measurement and for making available to the external world the recorded results provided by the holter system. For example, the interface may include a keyboard for introducing data and for accessing a selection menu, a display for visualizing the results of measurements and a communication port with an external PC, and the like. Block B It performs the function of detecting and classifying the movement of the patient by processing, according to a predefined fuzzy logic algorithm, information on the movements of one or more parts of the body of the patient, as detected by respective sensors worn by the patient. This subsystem provides for a global classification of the state of physical exertion of the patient at a certain time. Block C It is the memory of the system in which is stored all information necessary to manage the measurements as well as the readings and results produced by the instrument. For example, it contains data relative to the patient (age, sex, and eventually average values of minimum and maximum blood pressure as measured by the doctor), the monitoring program (frequency with which readings are taken, delay and/or anticipation of the taking of readings depending on the assessed state of physical exertion and/or detection of anomalies of the pressure values in respect to recorded average values), the pressure readings, indexes of the state of physical exertion, and the like. Block D It represents the control system of the taking of measurements. It provides for coordinately activating the different parts of the holter, writes in a dedicated buffer of the memory the results obtained and processes the results for establishing when to perform the next measurement. For example, upon detecting anomalies, the system may decide to increase the frequency of measurements. Parameters of management of measurements, in particular the base frequency of measurements and the intervals of anticipation and/or posticipation of measurements may be programmed by the doctor. Block E This block performs the single blood pressure measurements. Its principle of operation is based on the indirect oscillometric method of measurement. The blood pressure signal is detected by a sensor and the arterial beats are derived by processing the pressure signal. The fuzzy logic manages the inflation and the deflation of the pneumatic constriction sleeve as well as carrying out the evaluation of the maximum and minimum blood pressure values. The block E includes the following parts. (1) MOTOR DRIVEN PUMP. It forces air into the constriction sleeve (4). The motor is controlled by a driving circuit (driver) which in turn is controlled by the control system (9) that establishes when and with which power air must be pumped. (2) VALVE. It permits the release of compressed air out of the sleeve. The relative driver circuit (driver) regulates the opening and closing of the valve under control of the control system (9). (3) CONSTRICTION SLEEVE. It is a flexible tube functionally placed around on an arm of the patient. It is inflated until its internal pressure exceeds the maximum arterial pressure. During the phase of deflation, the maximum and minimum arterial pressures coincide with the internal pressure of the air in the sleeve, respectively in coincidence of the instant at which a first arterial tone appears and disappears. (4) PRESSURE SENSOR. It detects the internal pressure of the air into the sleeve. The generated pressure signal generated, an example of which is shown in Figure 2, has of course an increasing trend during a phase of inflation of the sleeve and a decreasing trend during a phase of deflation of the sleeve. Moreover a periodic component of relatively small amplitude is present, which is due to the arterial pulsations during the systolic and diastolic phases. These pulsations, because of the direct contact of the sleeve with the arm, cause small variations of the internal pressure of the sleeve. Therefore these oscillations reflect the heart pulsations. Even the frequency of these oscillations coincide with the frequency of the heart beat. (5) HEART BEAT DETECTOR. In this block is implemented an algorithm that extracts from the pressure signal the component relative to the arterial pulsations by identifying in particular their amplitude and frequency. This information is crucial to establish the maximum and minimum values of arterial pressure. (6) FUZZY CONTROL OF INFLATION. In this block is implemented a fuzzy logic algorithm, that on the base of parameters relative to the internal air pressure of the sleeve and to the arterial pulsations, provides to the control system (9) the parameters necessary for regulating the inflation. Of course, the sleeve must be inflated until its internal pressure exceeds the maximum arterial pressure. However, in order to minimize the discomfort caused to the patient, the system automatically avoids to inflate the sleeve beyond the necessary. Therefore fuzzy logic rules are structured in such a way that, upon approaching by the internal pressure of the sleeve the maximum arterial pressure, the rate of air insufflation into the sleeve is gradually decreased. (7) MAXIMUM PRESSURE FUZZY DETECTION. The fuzzy logic algorithm of detection of the maximum pressure is performed in this block. The measurement of the maximum arterial pressure takes place during the phase of deflation of the sleeve. During the release of the internal pressure of the sleeve, the fuzzy logic circuitry receives input parameters relative to the amplitude of the arterial pulsations. Based of a predefined set of fuzzy rules, the fuzzy controller dynamically processes the input parameters and outputs a parameter representative of the degree of approximation of the internal pressure of the sleeve to the maximum arterial pressure. (8) FUZZY ASSESSMENT OF MINIMUM PRESSURE. The fuzzy algorithm for assessing the minimum arterial pressure is performed in this block. The measurement of the minimum arterial pressure takes place during the phase of deflation of the sleeve. The fuzzy algorithm dynamically processes parameters relative to the arterial pulsations and, upon gradually releasing the pressure from the sleeve, outputs a parameter representative of the degree of approximation of the internal pressure of the sleeve to the minimum arterial pressure. (9) CONTROL SYSTEM OF THE SINGLE TEST. This block is the heart of the pressure holter. It coordinates the functioning of all the different parts. It receives the electrical signals relative to the internal pressure of the sleeve and to the heart beats. It processes this information producing parameters to be input to the distinct control and fuzzy logic processing systems. In function of the results provided by the different fuzzy logic systems, it controls the motors of the air pump and of the release valve. Moreover, it communicates with the central control system of the instrument by transferring the results obtained by the blood pressure measuring device and receiving back the command for initiating the tests. EXAMPLE The scheme of operation of an instrument made according to the present invention is depicted in Fig. 3. The holter is composed of an inflatable sleeve to be wound around the right arm of the patient. By virtue of the motor driven pump, air is pumped inside the sleeve and by way of the release valve, air can exit. The motor has two states: active or disabled. The valve may be commanded in different conditions: fully open, closed, half open. The motor and the valve actuator are driven by respective driving circuits. Two sensors are used: one laced on the bust of the patient in order to detect movements of the trunk and the other sensor senses the internal air pressure of the sleeve. The electric signal produced by the pressure sensor propagates along two paths: a first path reaches directly an analog/digital input gate of the controller and its function is to provide to the controller data on the internal pressure of the sleeve. The same signal is used also for classifying the movement of the arm. In fact, on the base of the "disturbances" that a movement of the arm causes on the pressure signal, it is possible to quantify the intensity of the arm movement; the second path includes an active filter with a low frequency cut-off frequency in the vicinity of 0.7 Hz and a gain of about 150, and leads to an analog/digital input gate of the controller. The signal that is obtained after processing is shown in Fig. 4. The oscillations coincide with the arterial pulsations. The I/O interface is composed of: a four-key keyboard, one key for accessing a selection menu, two keys for scrolling through the menu, one key for selecting. Through the same keyboard, data on the patient, the frequency at which the blood pressure tests must be performed may be programmed; a monitor for displaying the menu options and the results of a test, in particular, the assessed minimum and maximum values of the arterial pressure and the parameter of classification of the state of physical exertion at the time of the blood pressure tests; a communication parallel port for downloading the stored results of the measurements (that is the pressure values as well as the minimum and maximum blood pressure and physical activity data, recorded during a full day) on a PC. The internal RAM of the instrument permits to store the results of the measurements and the pressure readings accumulated during a full day. Moreover, in the RAM are stored the variables that are needed for carrying out the tests under fuzzy logic control. The fuzzy microcontroller ST52E420 performs the following functions: acquisition through the analog/digital input ports of all the external input signals, that is the pressure and movement signals as detected by the respective sensors, as well as the input parameters that are conveyed through the I/O interface; fuzzy logic processing of the acquired parameters for managing the inflation and deflation of the sleeve and for calculating the minimum and maximum blood pressure values; fuzzy logic processing of information on movement provided by the sensors producing a classification of the state of physical exertion of the patient; driving of peripheral devices, in particular of the motorized pump and valve drivers and of the I/O interface; management of the memory; management of the tests in function of the results obtained during the preceding tests and of the set-up parameters stored during the programming of the instrument. Movement classifier The fuzzy logic algorithm for classifying the movement is implemented within the microcontroller. As shown in the specific functional scheme of Fig. 5, the device uses the signals provided by the two sensors, one of which is placed on the right arm of the patient and senses the internal pressure of the sleeve. The other sensor is placed on the bust and detects its movement. A labeling system is associated to each sensor for effecting a first fuzzy classification of the movement of the monitored part of the body on the basis of the fluctuations that the signals output by the sensors reveals. Dynamically all the parameters of classification of the movement of the different parts of the body are stored in the RAM of Fig. 3 (see also Fig. 4). Information so obtained on the movement of different parts of the body are formalized as input parameters of the fuzzy logic algorithms of second classification level. In this way, a global classification of the movement of the patient being monitored is produced as: calm, normal and restless. fuzzy algorithm of inflation of the sleeve Also the fuzzy algorithm for inflating the sleeve is implemented within the microcontroller. The fuzzy control of the inflation is such that when the pressure of the sleeve exceeds the maximum arterial pressure, the deflation phase is immediately initiated thus avoiding to further inflate without any purpose the sleeve. This minimizes the discomfort of the patient. The inflation algorithm receives as input information on the amplitude of the arterial pulsations, in function of which it finds the point at which the internal pressure of the sleeve has exceeded the maximum arterial pressure and therefore the deflation phase may be started. During a phase of gradual release of the internal air pressure of the sleeve, the amplitude of the pulsation follows a bell-shaped characteristic, as shown in Fig. 6. Upon overcoming the peak of the bell-shaped curve, the exceeding of the maximum arterial pressure is confirmed. In practice, as soon as the controller commands the start of a blood pressure measurement, the system starts to inflate the sleeve. At a certain instant, the inflation stops and the amplitude of arterial pulsation is read. By performing a comparison of the read amplitude with the amplitude read before and stored in a buffer, how much the sleeve should be inflated before repeating the comparison can be established. The fuzzy rules establish the successive instant at which to compare again the current reading with the preceding one. Therefore, at the N th reading, the fuzzy logic processor receives the parameter Δ = A N - A N-1 in terms of dimension and sign. On the basis of inference rules, the processor established the next Check Point. The rules are of the type: IF Δ IS low AND Δ sign IS positive THEN Check Point IS behind IF Δ IS medium AND Δ sign IS positive THEN Check Point IS medium The flow chart of the measurement of the inflation/deflation of the sleeve is depicted in Fig. 7. fuzzy logic algorithm for assessing the maximum pressure The maximum arterial pressure is assessed during the deflation phase of the sleeve. The fuzzy algorithm for assessing the maximum pressure receives as input the parameters relative to the amplitude of the arterial pulsations. The amplitude of the arterial pulsations follows a bell-shaped characteristic, as depicted in Fig. 8 and, experimentally, it is been verified that the maximum arterial pressure coincides with the zone of maximum gradient of the rising slope of the characteristic curve. As soon as the phase of releasing the internal air pressure of the sleeve has started, after waiting few instants for the signal to stabilize itself, the amplitude of the first pulsation Ap is read. The successive amplitudes are read and the parameter Δ = A N - A N-1 , where A N is the amplitude of the pulsation read at the Nth reading is evaluated. The fuzzy algorithm receives the Ap and Δ parameters. In function of a set of rules it generates the M parameter representative of the degree of approximation of the internal pressure of the sleeve to the maximum arterial pressure. The rules are structured such to evaluate the gradient of rise of the bell-shaped curve referred to the amplitude of the first beat which is a parameter strictly tied to the individual characteristic of the patient. The rules of the type: IF Δ IS LOW AND Ap IS LOW THEN M IS LOW Δ IS HIGH AND Ap IS LOW THEN M IS HIGH fuzzy logic algorithm for the assessment of the minimum pressure The fuzzy logic algorithm for assessing the minimum arterial pressure is also implemented within the microcontroller. Even the assessment of the minimum blood pressure takes place during the phase of releasing the internal air pressure of the sleeve and the input parameters of the fuzzy algorithm are A = A N - A N-1 and Ap defined in the preceding chapter. The fuzzy algorithm on the basis of a set of rules outputs a parameter m representative of the approximation of the internal air pressure of the sleeve to the minimum arterial pressure. Along the bell-shaped characteristic of Fig. 8, reflecting the evolution of the amplitude of arterial pulsations during the release of the pressure of the sleeve, the minimum arterial pressure coincides with the zone in which the decreasing gradient of the bell-shaped profile starts to stabilize itself. The fuzzy rules are of the type: IF Δ IS HIGH AND Ap IS LOW THEN m IS LOW IF Δ IS LOW AND Ap IS LOW THEN m IS HIGH etc. etc. A circuit scheme of the memory control unit MCU of the amplifier and of the filter, using the commercial device ST52_420, is depicted in Fig. 10. A circuit implementation of the memory, of the parallel communication port is depicted in Fig. 11. A sample realization of the circuits for driving and controlling the motor are shown in Fig. 12. A circuit implementation of the display and of the four-key keyboard is shown in Figure 13. The pressure holter of the invention has proven itself outstandingly reliable. The use of the fuzzy logic processing in the holter is outstandingly effective because of the need to evaluate factors that are not easily quantifiable (fuzzy); a processing of which may be greatly optimized by relying on fuzzy logic. Information relative to the current state of physical exertion of the patient permits to "weight" in a most appropriate way the pressure values measured by the holter, thus avoiding for example improper alarms when relatively high pressure values are read in coincidence with a particularly intense physical activity. Moreover, the instrument exploits the results of the measurements already carried out for evaluating the most appropriate time at which carrying out the next measurement. In this way, the carrying out of repeated measurements of little significance can be avoided thus preventing undue discomforts to the patient. The instrument of the invention besides representing an outstandingly valid measurement and monitoring instrument may be used also in medical research programs because of the possibility of downloading pressure readings and movement data stored throughout a full day. Therefore it permits to build up a database of blood pressure data to be used in subsequent analyses, strictly for controlling a patient or for a broader range of clinical investigations, for example, for studying the cycling of arterial pressure through the arc of the day.

Claims: Portable automatic sphygmomanometer functioning by oscillometric detection and including a fuzzy logic controller for acquiring and recording maximum and minimum values of arterial pressure and heart beat frequency, characterized by comprising means of detection of movement for producing an index representative of the current state of physical exertion recordable at the time of measuring minimum and maximum values of arterial pressure by the portable automatic sphygmomanometer; fuzzy logic means classifying detected movement according to a certain fuzzy logic algorithm for producing said recordable current index of physical exertion. Portable automatic sphygmomanometer according to claim 1, wherein said fuzzy logic controller manages the timing of taking and recording arterial pressure values in function of the current index of physical exertion. Portable automatic sphygmomanometer according to claim 1, comprising a first sensor of the internal air pressure of inflation of a pneumatic constriction sleeve worn on an arm of the subject wearing the portable automatic sphygmomanometer and characterized in that it comprises at least a second sensor of movement fixed to the bust of the patient. Portable automatic sphygmomanometer according to claim 3, characterized in that the classification system of movement comprises analog/digital conversion means converting an analog signal generated by said first sensor of the internal pressure of the sleeve and an analog signal generated by said second movement sensor into corresponding digital data sequences; a fuzzy logic processing unit for generating respective motion parameters from each of said data sequences; means of fuzzy logic labeling and processing of said generated parameters; a memory storing said parameters and/or labels; fuzzy logic classifications means of global motion activity in function of said fuzzy labels. Portable automatic sphygmomanometer according to claim 1, wherein said fuzzy logic controller commands the inflation and deflation of a constriction sleeve of the holter, repeatedly interrupting the inflation, reading the amplitude of arterial pulsations, comparing the current amplitude with the amplitude read and stored during the preceding stop of the inflation, establishing the duration of the next phase of inflation of the sleeve and arresting the inflation upon detecting a progressive decrease of the amplitude of the pulsations. Portable automatic sphygmomanometer according to claim 1, wherein said fuzzy logic controller commands the deflation of the sleeve, reading the amplitude of the arterial pulsations, comparing the amplitude of the current pulsations with the amplitude read and stored before and recording the maximum arterial pressure upon detecting the maximum gradient of increment of the amplitude of the arterial pulsations and successively registering the minimum arterial pressure in coincidence with the detected minimum gradient of decrement of the amplitude of the arterial pulsations during the release of the internal pressure of the sleeve.

Inventors: AVELLA LEONARDO DINO, CUCE ANTONINO, PALMA GIUSEPPE, PLATANIA DAVIDE, AVELLA, LEONARDO DINO, CUCE, ANTONINO, PALMA, GIUSEPPE, PLATANIA, DAVIDE
Applicants: ST MICROELECTRONICS SRL, STMICROELECTRONICS S.R.L.
Application year: 2000
Main classification: A61B5
IPC codes: A61B5