Patent ID: 7238159

Claim:
A device for monitoring a user's blood pressure while the user is ambulatory, the device comprising: a blood pressure sensor comprising: a motion sensor for monitoring motion of the user and configured to generate motion information in response; and a blood pressure monitor comprising an optical system comprising a light source and a light detector configured to generate a time-dependent waveform comprising a primary peak and a reflective peak that are, collectively, representative of the user's blood pressure; and a body-worn processing unit, connected to the blood pressure sensor through a cable, comprising: a microprocessor for receiving the time-dependent waveform from the blood pressure monitor and motion information from the motion sensor, the microprocessor comprising computer code that controls the microprocessor to: 1) analyze the primary and reflective peaks comprised by the time-dependent waveform from the blood pressure monitor with a mathematical model by varying parameters of the model until they correspond to the amplitudes of the primary and reflective peaks; 2) analyze the motion information from the motion sensor to distinguish between time-dependent waveforms generated while the user is moving and while the user is at rest; and 3) calculate a blood pressure value from parameters of the model determined from the time-dependent waveform generated when the user is at rest.