Design of a secondary standard for measuring arterial blood pressure

The measurement of blood pressure by mercury sphygmomanometer and auscultation is one of the oldest methods, and it is still widely used in health services. Nowadays, the usage of inexpensive electronic oscillometric devices for home and clinical use has increased dramatically. The purpose of this paper is to verify the reliability of such devices.Until now, automated pressure devices have been evaluated by a clinical study utilizing the auscultatory method, which has the disadvantage of resulting in uncertainties related to the perception of Korotkoff sounds. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a full calibration chain based on invasive pressure measurements in order to evaluate the performance of automated pressure devices and to ensure their traceability.

► The usage of oscillometric devices for home and clinical use has increased dramatically.
► It is necessary to verify their reliability.
► We establish a full calibration chain based on invasive pressure measurements.
► To evaluate the performance and ensure the traceability of automated pressure devices.