Patent ID: 7390302

Claim:
A method of monitoring blood pressure in a patient, the method comprising the steps of: providing a pulse monitor having a sensor operable to detect pulse signals due to the patient's heartbeat; positioning a blood pressure cuff on the patient, the blood pressure cuff being operable to restrict a blood flow past the blood pressure cuff; positioning the sensor on the patient distal to the blood pressure cuff to detect pulse signals from the patient in the blood flow past the blood pressure cuff; inflating the blood pressure cuff to restrict the blood flow; monitoring for the presence of the pulse signals from the pulse monitor during inflation of the blood pressure cuff; terminating the inflation of the blood pressure cuff based upon the pulse signals to define an initial inflation pressure; decreasing the pressure in the blood pressure cuff from the initial inflation pressure while monitoring for oscillation pulses from the blood pressure cuff; and calculating the systolic pressure, mean arterial pressure and diastolic pressure for the patient based upon the oscillation pulses detected during the deflation of the blood pressure cuff.