Patent Description:
Blood pressure is a very important physiological parameter of human body. Regular measure of blood pressure is advantageous for earlier detection and diagnosis of the variety of hypertension disease so as to propose appropriate therapeutic recommendation thereto.

At present, existing devices for measuring blood pressure usually comprise standard mercury sphygmomanometer and electronic sphygmomanometer. Practical operation of the standard mercury sphygmomanometer requires a user to possess certain specialized knowledge, which results in relatively narrower application range. The electronic sphygmomanometer doesn't require the user to possess much specialized knowledge for practical operation, and hence is relatively broader in application range. However, both of the standard mercury sphygmomanometer and the electronic sphygmomanometer require the user to wear a wrist strap belt, with relatively complicated operation process; moreover, the standard mercury sphygmomanometer and the electronic sphygmomanometer both have relatively larger size, which makes the miniaturization and portability of the sphygmomanometer unachievable and cannot satisfy demand of user who requires for measurement of blood pressure whenever and wherever possible.

Therefore, the present filed always has a demand for devices for measuring blood pressure with simple operation and small size for portability.

<CIT> discloses a device for measuring heart rate and blood pressure by employing the photo volume marking signal of the body and combining the high-frequency photo volume marking signal with the electrocardiosignal to measure the body physiological parameter.

<CIT> discloses an apparatus for readily measuring a blood pressure without using a cuff including measuring, by a portable blood pressure measuring apparatus, an electrocardiogram signal and a pulse wave signal, transmitting the measured electrocardiogram signal and pulse wave signal to a portable terminal, calculating, by the portable terminal, a Pulse Transit Time (PTT) and a Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) using the transmitted electrocardiogram signal and the pulse wave signal, and calculating a blood pressure value based on the PTT and the PWV.

<CIT> discloses a blood pressure measurement device including a case, an electrocardiogram electrode, a pulse wave sensor, an estimation portion, and a display portion. The case has a peripheral surface to be held with both hands. The electrocardiogram electrode detects an electrocardiogram signal associated with a movement of a heart through at least one of the hands. The pulse wave sensor detects a pulse wave signal associated with the movement of the heart through a least one of the hands. The estimation portion estimates a blood pressure based on the electrocardiogram signal and the pulse wave signal.

<CIT> discloses a system that continuously monitors cardiovascular health using an electrocardiography (ECG) source synchronized to an optical (PPG) source, without requiring invasive techniques or ongoing, large-scale external scanning procedures.

<CIT> discloses a body worn physiological sensor device having a disposable electrode module.

It is an object of the present intention to provide a device for measuring blood pressure achieving simple operation and small size for portability.

The object is achieved by the features of independent claim <NUM>. Further embodiments are defined in the corresponding dependent claims.

During practical operation of the device for measuring blood pressure as provided by embodiments of the present invention, for measuring the blood pressure, it only requires a user to contact the first electrode and the second electrode with his/her two hands respectively while contacting the photoelectric sensor with his/her one hand; as compared with the existing sphygmomanometer, it's simpler in operation without the need of wearing a wrist strap belt; moreover, the first electrode, the second electrode and the photoelectric sensor are all embedded at the surface of the housing so that it not only doesn't affect the acquisition of electrocardiosignal of the first electrode and the second electrode and the acquisition of pulse wave signal of the photoelectric sensor, but also achieves miniaturization and portability of the device for measuring blood pressure by integrating the first electrode, the second electrode and the photoelectric sensor within the housing, thereby satisfying the demand of user who requires for measurement of blood pressure whenever and wherever possible.

In order to clearly illustrate the technical solution of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings of the embodiments will be briefly described in the following. Obviously, the drawings described as below merely refer to some embodiments of the present invention without limiting the present invention thereto.

Hereafter, particular implementations of a device for measuring blood pressure are further described in more details with reference to the appending drawings.

A shape or a dimension of respective components in the drawings is not intended to reflect an actual scale thereof but only to illustratively explain contents of the present invention.

As illustrated in <FIG>, a device for measuring blood pressure comprises a housing <NUM>; a circuit board <NUM> and a power supply <NUM> that are disposed within the housing <NUM>; a display <NUM> embedded at a surface of the housing <NUM>; and a first electrode <NUM>, a second electrode <NUM> and a photoelectric sensor <NUM> that are electrically connected to the circuit board <NUM>, respectively; wherein the first electrode <NUM>, the second electrode <NUM> and the photoelectric sensor <NUM> are embedded at a surface of the housing <NUM>.

During practical operation of the above-mentioned device for measuring blood pressure, for measuring the blood pressure, it only requires a user to contact the first electrode and the second electrode with his/her two hands respectively while contacting the photoelectric sensor with his/her one hand; as compared with the existing sphygmomanometer, it's simpler in operation without the need of wearing a wrist strap belt; moreover, the first electrode, the second electrode and the photoelectric sensor are all embedded at the surface of the housing so that it not only doesn't affect the acquisition of electrocardiosignal of the first electrode and the second electrode and the acquisition of pulse wave signal of the photoelectric sensor but also achieves miniaturization and portability of the device for measuring blood pressure by integrating the first electrode, the second electrode and the photoelectric sensor within the housing, thereby satisfying the demand of user who requires for measurement of blood pressure whenever and wherever possible.

In particular implementation, for the above-mentioned device for measuring blood pressure, a processor and an amplifier that are electrically connected can be integrated on the circuit board. Particularly, the first electrode and the second electrode are electrically connected to two ends (a positive end and a negative end) of the amplifier respectively; the photoelectric sensor is electrically connected to the processor; the power supply is electrically connected to the processor, the amplifier, the photoelectric sensor and the display for supplying electrical power to the processor, the amplifier, the photoelectric sensor and the display (and/or Bluetooth).

Hereinafter, particular working principle of the above-mentioned device for measuring blood pressure will be described in more details. The user contact the first electrode and the second electrode respectively with his/her two hands while contacting the photoelectric sensor with his/her one hand for a certain period of time (usually <NUM> seconds), so as to measure the blood pressure. During such operation, the amplifier is configured to acquire electrocardiosignal through the first electrode and the second electrode under a control of the processor and send the electrocardiosignal as acquired to the processor; the photoelectric sensor is configured to acquire pulse wave signal under a control of the processor and sends the pulse wave signal as acquired to the processor; the processor is configured to receive the electrocardiosignal sent by the amplifier and the pulse wave signal sent by the photoelectric sensor, recognize a peak point of the electrocardiosignal and a peak point of the pulse wave signal, determine a time difference between the peak point of the electrocardiosignal (as indicated by a curve a illustrated in <FIG>) and the peak point of the pulse wave signal (as indicated by a curve b illustrated in <FIG>) as a pulse transmission time (as indicated by T as illustrated in <FIG>), substitute the pulse transmission time into an equation of blood pressure versus pulse transmission time as pre-stored to calculate a blood pressure value, and send the blood pressure value to the display; the display receives and displays the blood pressure value sent by the processor.

It should be explained that, in the above-mentioned device for measuring blood pressure, the equation of blood pressure versus pulse transmission time pre-stored in the processor can be obtained by way of calibration. In particular, measuring a standard blood pressure of a human body by using a standard mercury sphygmomanometer and measuring a current pulse transmission time of the human body by using the sphygmomanometer to be calibrated at the same time, so as to obtain a group of data of blood pressure versus pulse transmission time; measuring a plurality of groups of data of blood pressure versus pulse transmission time and linearly fitting the plurality of groups of data, so as to obtain the equation of blood pressure versus pulse transmission time for the sphygmomanometer to be calibrated; then inputting the equation into the processor.

During particular implementation, when a user measures blood pressure by using the above-mentioned device for measuring blood pressure, he/she contacts both the first electrode and the second electrode with his/her two hands respectively while contacting the photoelectric sensor with his/her one hand. Particularly, the user can choose to contact the first electrode and the photoelectric sensor with the same hand, and to contact the second electrode with the other hand; or, the user can choose to contact the second electrode and the photoelectric sensor with the same hand, and to contact the first electrode with the other hand; however, embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto. Hereinafter the case where the user contacts the second electrode and the photoelectric sensor with the same hand and contacts the first electrode with the other hand will be described by way of example.

In some implementations, for the above-mentioned device for measuring blood pressure, in order for the convenience of the user to contact both the second electrode and the photoelectric sensor at the same time with the same hand, as illustrated in <FIG>, the second electrode <NUM> and the photoelectric sensor <NUM> can be embedded at the same side of the housing <NUM>, that is, a surface of the second electrode <NUM> and a surface of the photoelectric sensor <NUM> are exposed from the same side of the housing <NUM>.

In some embodiments, for the above-mentioned device for measuring blood pressure, when the second electrode and the photoelectric sensor are embedded at the same side of the housing, as illustrated in <FIG>, the first electrode <NUM> and the second electrode <NUM> can be embedded at the same side of the housing <NUM>; in this way, the first electrode <NUM>, the second electrode <NUM> and the photoelectric sensor <NUM> are all embedded at the same side of the housing <NUM>, that is, a surface of the first electrode <NUM>, a surface of the second electrode <NUM> and a surface of the photoelectric sensor <NUM> are all exposed from the same side of the housing <NUM>; in this way, when measuring a blood pressure by using the above-mentioned device for measuring blood pressure, the user can press one of his/her hands on the first electrode <NUM> while pressing the other hand on both the second electrode <NUM> and the photoelectric sensor <NUM> for a certain period of time so that the display <NUM> of the device for measuring blood pressure can display a blood pressure value. At this time, in order for the convenience of the user to view the blood pressure value displayed on the display <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG>, the display <NUM> can also be embedded at the side so that all of the first electrode <NUM>, the second electrode <NUM>, the photoelectric sensor <NUM> and the display <NUM> can be embedded at the same side of the housing <NUM>, that is, a surface of the first electrode <NUM>, a surface of the second electrode <NUM>, a surface of the photoelectric sensor <NUM> and a surface of the display <NUM> are all exposed from the same side of the housing <NUM>.

Of course, the surface of the display can be exposed from any side of the housing; in particular, it can be adapted appropriately according to actual conditions by comprehensively considering several factors such as the convenience for the user to view the blood pressure value and the reduction of the size of the device for measuring blood pressure as far as possible.

In some implementations, for the above-mentioned device for measuring blood pressure, when the second electrode and the photoelectric sensor are embedded at the same side of the housing, as illustrated in <FIG>, the first electrode <NUM> and the second electrode <NUM> can be embedded at two opposite sides of the housing <NUM> respectively, that is, a surface of the first electrode <NUM> and a surface of the second electrode <NUM> are exposed from two opposite sides of the housing <NUM> respectively; in this way, the size of the device for measuring blood pressure can be further reduced. At this time, in order for the convenience of the user to view the blood pressure value displayed by the display <NUM> and for the reduction of the size of the device for measuring blood pressure, as illustrated in <FIG>, the first electrode <NUM> and the display <NUM> can be embedded at the same side of the housing <NUM>, that is, a surface of the first electrode <NUM> and a surface of the display <NUM> both are exposed from the same side of the housing <NUM>.

Of course, in case where the second electrode and the photoelectric sensor are embedded at the same side of the housing, the first electrode and the second electrode can also be embedded at two adjacent sides of the housing <NUM> respectively, that is, a surface of the first electrode and a surface of the second electrode are exposed from two adjacent sides of the housing respectively; however, embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

In some implementations, for the above-mentioned device for measuring blood pressure, in order to ensure that the user can fully contact the first electrode with his/her hand so as to guarantee an accuracy of the electrocardiosignal as acquired by the amplifier and also reduce the size of the device for measuring blood pressure as far as possible for achieving miniaturization and portability thereof, a length of the surface of the first electrode exposed from the housing can be controlled to be within a range from <NUM> to <NUM>, a width of the surface of the first electrode exposed from the housing can be controlled to be within a range from <NUM> to <NUM>, and a thickness of the first electrode can be controlled to be within a range from <NUM> to <NUM>.

In some implementations, for the above-mentioned device for measuring blood pressure, in order to ensure that the user can fully contact the second electrode with his/her hand so as to guarantee an accuracy of the electrocardiosignal as acquired by the amplifier and also reduce the size of the device for measuring blood pressure as far as possible for achieving miniaturization and portability thereof, a length of the surface of the second electrode exposed from the housing can be controlled to be within a range from <NUM> to <NUM>, a width of the surface of the second electrode exposed from the housing can be controlled to be within a range from <NUM> to <NUM>, and a thickness of the second electrode can be controlled to be within a range from <NUM> to <NUM>.

In some implementations, for the above-mentioned device for measuring blood pressure, in order to ensure that the user can fully contact the photoelectric sensor with his/her hand so as to guarantee an accuracy of the pulse wave signal as acquired by the photoelectric sensor and also reduce the size of the device for measuring blood pressure as far as possible for achieving miniaturization and portability thereof, a length of the surface of the photoelectric sensor exposed from the housing can be controlled to be within a range from <NUM> to <NUM>, a width of the surface of the photoelectric sensor exposed from the housing can be controlled to be within a range from <NUM> to <NUM>, and a thickness of the photoelectric sensor can be controlled to be within a range from <NUM> to <NUM>.

In the invention, as illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, the above-mentioned device for measuring blood pressure as embodiments of the present invention further comprise a third electrode <NUM> electrically connected to the circuit board <NUM>; in particular, the third electrode <NUM> is electrically connected to one end of the amplifier connected to the second electrode <NUM> so that the third electrode <NUM> is used as a feedback electrode serving for suppressing common-mode interference, thereby improving an accuracy of the electrocardio signal as acquired by the amplifier; moreover, the third electrode <NUM> and the second electrode <NUM> are embedded at the same side of the housing <NUM>, that is, a surface of the third electrode <NUM> and a surface of the second electrode <NUM> are exposed from the same side of the housing <NUM> so as to facilitate the user to contact the third electrode <NUM> and the second electrode <NUM> with one hand at the same time.

In some implementations, for the above-mentioned device for measuring blood pressure n, in order to ensure that the user can fully contact the third electrode with his/her hand so as to guarantee an accuracy of electrocardiosignal as acquired by the amplifier and also reduce the size of the device for measuring blood pressure as far as possible for achieving miniaturization and portability thereof, a length of the surface of the third electrode exposed from the housing can be controlled to be within a range from <NUM> to <NUM>, a width of the surface of the third electrode exposed from the housing can be controlled to be within a range from <NUM> to <NUM>, and a thickness of the third electrode can be controlled to be within a range from <NUM> to <NUM>.

In some embodiments, as illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, the above-mentioned device for measuring blood pressure as embodiments of the present invention can further comprise a wrist strap belt <NUM> connected to the housing <NUM>; in this way, the user can directly wear the device for measuring blood pressure on his/her wrist for convenience of measuring the blood pressure whenever and wherever possible. For example, when measuring the blood pressure with the device for measuring blood pressure as illustrated in <FIG>, the user can take off the device for measuring blood pressure from the wrist, then presses one hand on the first electrode <NUM> while pressing the other hand on the second electrode <NUM>, the photoelectric sensor <NUM> and the third electrode <NUM> for a certain period of time so that the display <NUM> can display a blood pressure value; when measuring the blood pressure with the device for measuring blood pressure as illustrated in <FIG>, it's not necessary for the user to take off the device for measuring blood pressure from the wrist but only needs to directly press the hand without wearing the device for measuring blood pressure on the first electrode <NUM> and to allow the second electrode <NUM>, the third electrode <NUM> and the photoelectric sensor <NUM> all contacting the wrist wearing the device for measuring blood pressure for a certain period of time so that the display <NUM> can display a blood pressure value; in this way, the operation of the device for measuring blood pressure is further simplified. It should be noted that, when wearing the device for measuring blood pressure as illustrated in <FIG>, it has to allow the exposed surface of the second electrode <NUM>, the exposed surface of the third electrode <NUM> and the exposed surface of the photoelectric sensor <NUM> all facing to the wrist of the user.

During particular implementation, for the above-mentioned device for measuring blood pressure, the processor can be an ARM processor capable of controlling an acquisition of signal (e.g., controlling a sampling rate and a signal magnification of the amplifier; controlling a sampling rate and an illumination intensity of the photoelectric sensor, etc.) and reading and processing data in real time.

During particular implementation, for the above-mentioned device for measuring blood pressure, the power supply can be a rechargeable battery, such as, a lithium battery.

It should be explained that, for the above-mentioned device for measuring blood pressure, the photoelectric sensor can preferably be a reflective photoelectric sensor. Because both of a luminotron and a photoreceiver of the reflective photoelectric are located at the same side of the user's hand, the reflective photoelectric sensor can be integrated within the housing with only the surface of the reflective photoelectric sensor being exposed, so as to ensure achieving miniaturization and portability of the device for measuring blood pressure.

It should be explained that the above-mentioned device for measuring blood pressure is not limited to a structure which displays the blood pressure value through a display, but also can utilize a Bluetooth in place of the display. In particular, the Bluetooth can send the blood pressure value calculated by the processor to a mobile phone or a computer of the user through which the blood pressure value can be read; in this way, the size of the device for measuring blood pressure can be further reduced so that the device for measuring blood pressure is smaller and more portable.

Hereinafter particular dimensions of the above-mentioned device for measuring blood pressure as provided by embodiments of the present invention will be described in more details with reference to the device for measuring blood pressure as illustrated in <FIG> by way of example. According to particular dimensions of the first electrode, the second electrode, the photoelectric sensor and the third electrode, by considering that a thickness of a circuit board and a lithium battery usually are <NUM> and <NUM> respectively, it can be deduced that the above-mentioned device for measuring blood pressure as provided by embodiments of the present invention has a length of <NUM> to <NUM>, a width of <NUM> to <NUM> and a thickness of <NUM> to <NUM>; more particularly, the length is about <NUM>, the width is about <NUM>, and the thickness is about <NUM>. The above-mentioned device for measuring blood pressure as provided by embodiments of the present invention is small in size and convenient for portability.

Claim 1:
A device for measuring blood pressure, comprising:
a housing (<NUM>);
a circuit board (<NUM>) and a power supply (<NUM>) that are disposed within the housing (<NUM>); a display (<NUM>) embedded at the surface of the housing (<NUM>); and
a first electrode (<NUM>), a second electrode (<NUM>) and a photoelectric sensor (<NUM>) that are electrically connected to the circuit board (<NUM>), respectively; wherein,
the first electrode (<NUM>), the second electrode (<NUM>) and the photoelectric sensor (<NUM>) are embedded at a surface of the housing (<NUM>);
a processor and an amplifier which are integrated on the circuit board (<NUM>),
the first electrode (<NUM>) and the second electrode (<NUM>) are electrically connected to two ends of the amplifier, respectively;
the photoelectric sensor (<NUM>) is electrically connected to the processor;
characterized in that
the device further comprises a third electrode (<NUM>) electrically connected to the circuit board (<NUM>), wherein the second electrode (<NUM>), the third electrode (<NUM>) and the photoelectric sensor (<NUM>) are embedded at a same side of the housing (<NUM>), and the third electrode (<NUM>) is electrically connected to one end of the amplifier connected to the second electrode (<NUM>) so that the third electrode (<NUM>) is used as a feedback electrode serving for suppressing common-mode interference.