An evaluation of three oscillometric non-invasive blood pressure simulators

A number of simulators have been developed for testing and evaluating oscillometric non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) monitors. These simulators may be used to assist with the routine and corrective maintenance of NIBP monitors; for training clinical staff in the use and limitations of oscillometric NIBP monitors; to complement clinical trials in the process of evaluating new NIBP monitors; and to assist with the development of new NIBP monitors. We assessed three NIBP simulators (Bio-Tek BP-Pump, Dynatech CuffLink, and Metron QA-1280A) in the light of these applications, considering such features as the ability to calibrate NIBP monitors; the range of simulated waveforms; weak and strong pulses and artifact; graphical displays of the cuff pressure and the oscillometric waveform; and the recording of performance measures of each NIBP determination such as determination time, inflation rate and peak cuff inflation pressure.