Systems and methods for non-invasive continuous blood pressure determination

Abstract

According to some embodiments, systems and methods are provided for non-invasive continuous blood pressure determination. In some embodiments, a PPG signal is received and locations of pulses within the PPG signal are identified. An area within a particular pulse is measured. The area may be of just the upstroke, downstroke or the entire pulse. The area may be measured relative to a time-domain axis or a baseline of the pulse. The pulse may be split into multiple sections and the area of each section may be measured. The area of one portion of the pulse may correspond to systolic blood pressure while the area of another portion may correspond to diastolic blood pressure. Empirical data may be used to determine blood pressure from the measured area by applying calibration data measured by a suitable device.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for determining blood pressure based on a physiological signal, the method comprising:
 receiving the physiological signal;   identifying, using processing circuitry, a first point and a second point of the physiological signal;   measuring, using the processing circuitry, an area under a segment of the physiological signal, wherein the segment begins at the first point and ends at the second point, wherein the segment is a portion of a pulse in the physiological signal, and wherein the portion is smaller than the pulse; and   determining, using the processing circuitry, blood pressure based on the measured area.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the measured area is an area under the segment of the physiological signal relative to a baseline of the pulse. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the measured area is an area under the segment of the physiological signal relative to a temporal axis. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the segment of the physiological signal corresponds to an upstroke of the pulse. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the segment of the physiological signal corresponds to a downstroke of the pulse. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the blood pressure is determined based on empirical data that relates to a patient or at least one other patient. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the blood pressure is determined based on calibration data. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the blood pressure is determined by applying a function to the measured area to compute the blood pressure or looking up a corresponding blood pressure value associated with the measured area in a table. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the blood pressure is one of systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the physiological signal is a photoplethysmograph signal. 
     
     
         11 . A system for determining blood pressure based on a physiological signal, the system comprising:
 processing circuitry configured to:
 receive the physiological signal; 
 identify a first point and a second point of the physiological signal; 
 measure an area under a segment of the physiological signal, wherein the segment begins at the first point and ends at the second point, wherein the segment is a portion of a pulse in the physiological signal, and wherein the portion is smaller than the pulse; and 
 determine blood pressure based on the measured area. 
   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11  wherein the measured area is an area under the segment of the physiological signal relative to a baseline of the pulse. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11  wherein the measured area is an area under the segment of the physiological signal relative to a temporal axis. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11  wherein the segment of the physiological signal corresponds to an upstroke of the pulse. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11  wherein the segment of the physiological signal corresponds to a downstroke of the pulse. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 11  wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine the blood pressure based on empirical data that relates to a patient or at least one other patient. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 11  wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine the blood pressure based on calibration data. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 11  wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine the blood pressure by applying a function to the measured area to compute the blood pressure or looking up a corresponding blood pressure value associated with the measured area in a table. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the blood pressure is one of systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the physiological signal is a photoplethysmograph signal.