Patent ID: 7179228

Claim:
A hand-held device for monitoring a patient's blood pressure, comprising: a hand-held component configured to be held proximal to the patient's skin; a first optical module operating in a reflective mode and comprised by the hand-held component, the first optical module comprising a first optical source component configured to generate optical radiation and a first optical sensor configured to detect reflected radiation from the patient and, in response, generate a first set of information when the hand-held component is held proximal to the patient's skin; a second optical module operating in a reflective mode and comprised by the hand-held component, the second optical module comprising a second optical source component configured to generate optical radiation and a second optical sensor configured to detect reflected radiation from the patient and, in response, generate a second set of information when the hand-held component is held proximal to the patient's skin; an electrical sensor comprised by the hand-held component and comprising an electrode pair configured to generate a third set of information when the hand-held component is held proximal to the patient's skin; and a processing module, comprised by the hand-held component, and configured to receive the first, second, and third sets of information, the processing module comprising a processor that calculates a first time-dependent property from components of the first set of information and the second set of information and a second time-dependent property from the third set of information and at least one of the first and second sets of information and compares the first and second time-dependent properties to a mathematical model to calculate a blood pressure value.