Numerical validation of a suprasystolic brachial cuff-based method for estimating aortic pressure

Central aortic pressures are better predictors of cardiovascular events than peripheral pressures. However, central aortic blood pressures cannot be measured noninvasively; for this reason, estimating aortic pressures from noninvasive measurements of peripheral pressures has been the subject of numerous studies. In the present study, a novel method was proposed to noninvasively estimate aortic pressures from the oscillometric wave of a suprasystolic brachial cuff. The errors of estimation were evaluated in relation to various cardiovascular properties using an integrated cardiovascular-cuff model. Obtained results demonstrated that the estimation errors are affected mainly by aortic stiffness. The estimation errors for aortic systolic pressure, diastolic pressure, pulse pressure and wave shape under the assumed cardiovascular conditions were 5.84 ± 1.58 mmHg, -0.28 ± 0.41 mmHg, 6.12 ± 1.42 mmHg and 1.72 ± 0.57 mmHg, respectively, all of which fell within the error ranges established by existing devices. Since the method is easy to be automated and bases the estimation fully on patient-specific information, its clinical application is promising, although further clinical studies are awaited to validate the method in vivo.