Faster oscillometric manometry does not sacrifice the accuracy of blood pressure determination

Faster oscillometry enables one to track rapid pressure changes. We therefore examined whether it was possible to shorten the measurement time without sacrificing accuracy. We accelerated and linearized cuff deflation and determined systolic and diastolic pressure values by the appearance and disappearance of oscillometric waves based on the interpolated cuff pressure-oscillometric wave amplitude relationship. The accuracy of faster oscillometry was examined by comparing correlations between invasive radial and oscillometric brachial pressure with either the conventional or the faster oscillometry in 23 patients (32+/-16 measurement pairs). Faster oscillometry shortened the measurement time from 27.7+/-3.5 s to 17.1+/-2.6 s. Neither pressure levels nor heart rate altered the time required for measurement. Bland-Altman analysis indicated that mean and standard deviation of difference between oscillometric and invasive systolic pressure was comparable (conventional, 2.1+/-7.5 mmHg; faster, 1.4+/-7.3 mmHg) without correlations between difference and average of systolic pressure. Similar differences (conventional, 5.0+/-6.8 mmHg; faster, 4.9+/-5.8 mmHg) and lack of correlations were also found for diastolic pressure. In conclusion, we succeeded in shortening the oscillometric measurement time to approximately 60% of the original time without sacrificing accuracy. This was achieved by acceleration and linearization of cuff deflation and by interpolation of the relationship between cuff pressure and oscillometric wave amplitude.