Non-Invasive Systemic Blood Pressure Measurement Wait Period Error Mitigation

World Health Organisation blood pressure measurement guidelines stipulate that a patient should be seated, back straight and legs uncrossed, for five minutes prior to blood pressure measurement. A study shows that in the majority of cases, the wait period is disregarded by the physician and consequently, the patient may be exposed to the risk of missed diagnosis or misdiagnosis. Modern oscillometric blood pressure measurement devices do not enforce a wait period or monitor patients to gauge their readiness for a measurement. This study investigates whether the electrocardiogram (ECG) or photoplethysmography (PPG) data of a patient could be used as a determinant of readiness for blood pressure measurement. The results indicate that the standard deviation of the interpeak difference of a patient’s ECG bio-signal could be used as a trigger for blood pressure measurement. In this single participant study, the wait period could be reduced from five minutes to 35 seconds. A follow up clinical investigation is recommended to validate the result on broader populations and a list of improvements are provided for such a follow up investigation.