Electronic Sphygmomanometer And Blood Pressure Measurement Method

Abstract

An electronic sphygmomanometer includes a cuff to be attached to a blood pressure measurement site, a pump and a valve for adjusting pressure to be applied on the cuff, a pressure sensor for detecting pressure in the cuff, a central processing unit (CPU) for calculating a blood pressure value from the cuff pressure, a memory for recording the blood pressure value, and an operation unit for carrying out a blood pressure measurement. A measurement condition input switch acquires information related to a condition at the time of current blood pressure measurement, and the memory stores the condition as measurement record information along with the blood pressure value. The CPU acquires past measurement record information close to the condition at the time of the blood pressure measurement from the memory and corrects a blood pressure measurement parameter based on the measurement record information.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic sphygmomanometer including a cuff to be attached to a blood pressure measurement site and a blood pressure calculation unit for calculating a blood pressure value from a cuff pressure, and a blood pressure measuring method using the same.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] A blood pressure is one type of index for analyzing a circulatory disease. Performing risk analysis based on the blood pressure is effective in preventing cardiovascular related disease such as apoplexy, cardiac arrest, and cardiac infarction. Conventionally, a diagnosis for performing the risk analysis is made from the blood pressure (occasional blood pressure) measured in medical institutions at the time of hospital visits and checkups. However, it is recognized from recent research that the blood pressure (home blood pressure) measured at home is more useful in diagnosing the circulatory disease than the occasional blood pressure. Accompanied therewith, the sphygmomanometer used at home is being widely used.

[0003] Most of the electronic sphygmomanometers currently being widely used use the blood pressure calculation algorithm of the oscillometric method or the microphone method.

[0004] In the oscillometric method, the change in arterial volume that occurs when the cuff pressure is pressurized up to a predetermined pressure (e.g., systolic blood pressure+30 mmHg), and then gradually depressurized at a predetermined speed (depressurization rate) is detected as a pressure pulse wave amplitude, and a predetermined algorithm is applied on the change in the pressure pulse wave amplitude to calculate a blood pressure value. The change in arterial volume that occurs when gradually pressurizing the cuff pressure at a predetermined speed (pressurization rate) may be detected as a pressure pulse wave amplitude, and a predetermined algorithm may be applied on the change in the pressure pulse wave amplitude to calculate a blood pressure value.

[0005] In the microphone method, the occurrence, attenuation, and disappearance of a Korotkoff sound that occurs when the cuff pressure is pressurized up to a predetermined pressure (e.g., systolic blood pressure+30 mmHg), and then gradually depressurized at a predetermined speed (depressurization rate), are detected with a microphone arranged in the cuff to determine the systolic blood pressure and the diastolic blood pressure.

[0006] In either blood pressure calculation method, the pressurization value needs to be pressurized to a cuff pressure (e.g., systolic blood pressure+30 mmHg) sufficiently higher than the systolic blood pressure. The depressurization rate and the pressurization rate need to be set such that information on the pressure pulse wave amplitude or the Kortkoff sound can be fully obtained. Specifically, the depressurization rate or the pressurization rate needs to be set according to the pulse rate of the subject.

[0007] (Prior Art of Pressurization Value)

[0008] In current sphygmomanometers, methods such as (1) setting a pressurization value with a switching switch before measurement (see patent document 1), (2) estimating a systolic blood pressure during pressurization, and setting a pressure obtained by adding a predetermined pressure (e.g., 30 mmHg) to the estimated systolic blood pressure as a pressurization value (see patent documents 2, 3), and (3) setting a pressure obtained by adding a predetermined pressure (e.g., 30 mmHg) to an average value of the systolic blood pressure values up to the previous measurement as a pressurization value (see patent document 4) are adopted.

[0009] Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62-66835

[0010] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Publication No. 2842696

[0011] Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Publication No. 3393432

[0012] Patent Document 4: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-185681

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0013] The blood pressure greatly changes by factors such as measuring time, day of the week, season, environment, stress, illness, various actions related to lifestyle habits (meal, exercise, smoking, rest), and the like. Thus, a user's systolic blood pressure needs to be known in advance for the method of (1), but may not necessarily be set correctly even if the pressurization value is set based on the previously measured blood pressure value because the blood pressure greatly fluctuates every time the measurement is carried out.

[0014] Similarly, in the method of (3), a user's systolic blood pressure may not necessarily be set correctly even if an average value or the like of a plurality of measurement results is used.

[0015] Furthermore, when calculating the blood pressure while depressurizing the cuff pressure, the pressurization of the cuff pressure needs to be carried out at as high of a speed as possible in order to achieve an accurate blood pressure measurement.

[0016] If pressurization is carried out at low speed, the blood retains (congestion) at the peripheral side (forearm in the case of the upper arm measurement) of the measurement site before the artery is completely closed, and an accurate measurement becomes impossible to carry out. Therefore, the pressurization rate is set at as high of a speed as possible, but as a consequence, the pulse wave information obtained during the pressurization becomes less, and the error of the estimated systolic blood pressure becomes large in the method of (2), and hence, the pressurization value may not be correctly set.

[0017] Therefore, one or more embodiments of the present invention provides an electronic sphygmomanometer and a blood pressure measurement method capable of setting an optimum blood pressure measurement parameter for every user by correcting a blood pressure measurement parameter based on past measurement recorded information close to the conditions at the time of the blood pressure measurement, and enhancing the satisfaction level of the user.

[0018] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, an electronic sphygmomanometer includes a cuff to be attached to a blood pressure measurement site, pressurization and depressurization means for adjusting pressure to be applied on the cuff, pressure detection means for detecting pressure in the cuff, blood pressure calculating means for calculating a blood pressure value from the cuff pressure, recording means for recording the blood pressure value, and operation means for carrying out operations such as blood pressure measurement, the electronic sphygmomanometer including condition information acquiring means for acquiring information related to a plurality of types of various measurement conditions at the time of current blood pressure measurement, the recording means being configured to store the various measurement conditions at the time of the blood pressure measurement acquired by the condition information acquiring means as measurement record information along with the blood pressure value; measurement record information acquiring means for acquiring past measurement record information close to the various measurement conditions at the time of the blood pressure measurement from the recording means; and correcting means for correcting a blood pressure measurement parameter based on the measurement record information if the past measurement record information close to the conditions at the time of the blood pressure measurement is acquired by the measurement record information acquiring means; wherein the measurement record information acquiring means is configured to preferentially extract measurement record information with greater matching measurement conditions.

[0019] The blood pressure measurement parameter may be a pressurization set value.

[0020] The blood pressure measurement parameter may be a depressurization rate.

[0021] The blood pressure measurement parameter may be a pressurization rate.

[0022] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the measurement record used when setting the condition at the time of the blood pressure measurement is the most recent record of the measurement records close to the current measurement condition.

[0023] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the measurement record used when setting the condition at the time of the blood pressure measurement is the statistical calculation result of a plurality of records from the most recent record of the measurement records close to the current measurement condition.

[0024] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the measurement record used when setting the condition at the time of the blood pressure measurement is the statistical calculation result of all records of the measurement records close to the current measurement condition.

[0025] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the optimum blood pressure measurement parameter can be set for every user.

[0026] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the measurement record information acquiring means may be configured to have measurement record information in which a certain specific condition and a few other conditions match as outside target of extraction if another certain specific condition is different.

[0027] Further, according to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the recording means may be configured to store a matching measurement condition and a measurement condition determined as outside the target of extraction when the condition is different in association to each other.

[0028] The condition at the time of the blood pressure measurement may be a measurement condition such as the measurement place, the illness information, the dosing status, the exercise content and the lifestyle habit information.

[0029] The lifestyle habit information includes various types of information such as before meal, after meal, after exercise, after smoking, rest (break), and the like.

[0030] One or more embodiments of the present invention provides a blood pressure measurement method for adjusting pressure to be applied to a cuff with pressurization and depressurization means when the cuff is attached to a blood pressure measurement site, and calculating a blood pressure value by blood pressure calculating means based on a cuff pressure detected by pressure detection means, the blood pressure measurement method including the steps of acquiring information related to a plurality of types of various measurement conditions at the time of current blood pressure measurement with condition information acquiring means; storing the various measurement conditions at the time of the blood pressure measurement acquired by the condition information acquiring means as measurement record information along with the blood pressure value in the recording means; and correcting a blood pressure measurement parameter based on measurement record information by correcting means when the past measurement record information close to the various measurement conditions at the time of the blood pressure measurement is acquired by the measurement record information acquiring means from the recording means; wherein the step of acquiring measurement record information close to the various measurement conditions by the measurement record information acquiring means is configured to preferentially extract measurement record information with greater matching measurement conditions.

[0031] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the process of setting the optimum blood pressure measurement parameter for every user can be executed.

[0032] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the step of acquiring measurement record information close to the various measurement conditions by the measurement record information acquiring means may be configured to have measurement record information in which a certain specific condition and a few other conditions match as outside target of extraction if another certain specific condition is different.

[0033] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the step of storing in the recording means may be configured to store a matching measurement condition and a measurement condition determined as outside the target of extraction when the condition is different in association to each other.

[0034] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, an electronic sphygmomanometer and a blood pressure measurement method capable of setting the optimum blood pressure measurement parameter for every user are provided, and the satisfaction level of the user is enhanced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electronic sphygmomanometer according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

[0036] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a blood pressure measurement operation according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

[0037] FIG. 3 is a table showing data associated with date and time, measurement value, and measurement condition (dosing status).

[0038] FIG. 4 is a table showing data associated with date and time, measurement value, and temperature at time of measurement.

[0039] FIG. 5 is a table showing data associated with date and time, measurement value, and measurement condition (lifestyle habit information).

[0040] FIG. 6 is a table showing data associated with date and time, measurement value, measurement condition (measurement place).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

[0041] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 1, an electronic sphygmomanometer 2600 according to one or more embodiments of the present invention includes a cuff 2101, an air tube 2102, a pressure sensor 2103, a pump 2104, a valve 2105, an oscillation circuit 2111, a pump drive circuit 2112, a valve drive circuit 2113, a timing unit 2115, a power supply 2116, a CPU 2120, a display unit 2121, a memory (for processing) 2122, a memory (for recording) 2123, an operation unit 2630, an interface 2171, and a recoding medium 2172.

[0043] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the electronic sphygmomanometer 2600 according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

[0044] The cuff 2101 is a band shaped member that is connected to the air tube 2102 and that is attached to a blood pressure measurement site of the user to pressurize by air pressure.

[0045] The pressure sensor 2103 is an electrostatic capacitance type pressure sensor, in which a capacitance value changes according to the pressure in the cuff (cuff pressure).

[0046] The pump 2104 and the valve 2105 apply pressure to the cuff and adjust (control) the pressure in the cuff.

[0047] The oscillation circuit 2111 outputs a signal of the frequency corresponding to the capacitance value of the pressure sensor 2103.

[0048] The pump drive circuit 2112 and the valve drive circuit 2113 drive the pump 2104 and the valve 2105, respectively.

[0049] The timing unit 2115 is a device for timing the current date and time, and transmitting the timed date and time to the CPU 2120 as necessary.

[0050] The power supply 2116 supplies power to each configuring unit.

[0051] The CPU 2120 executes the control of the pump 2104, the valve 2105, the display unit 2121, the memories 2122, 2123, the operation unit 2630, [[and]] the interface 2171, the blood pressure determination process, and the management of the recording values.

[0052] The display unit 2121 is configured by a display device such as a liquid crystal screen, and displays the blood pressure value according to a signal transmitted from the CPU 2120.

[0053] The memory (for processing) 2122 stores the control program or the like of the sphygmomanometer.

[0054] The memory (for recording) 2123 stores the blood pressure value and also stores the date and time, the measurement value, and the measurement condition by association.

[0055] In addition to the power supply switch 2131, the measurement switch 2132, the stop switch 2133, and the record callout switch 2141, the operation unit 2630 also includes a measurement condition input switch 2641 for inputting measurement conditions, where operation input such as power ON/OFF of the sphygmomanometer and start of measurement is permitted, and the inputted input signal is transmitted to the CPU 2120.

[0056] The interface 2171 executes recording/readout of the blood pressure value with respect to the recording medium 2172 according to the control of the CPU 2120.

[0057] The measurement condition input switch 2641 is configured to permit the input of a dosing status of whether or not after dosing for the measurement condition.

[0058] The blood pressure measurement operation using the electronic sphygmomanometer 2600 configured as above will be described according to the flowchart of FIG. 2.

[0059] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the blood pressure measurement operation according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

[0060] First, when the power supply switch of the sphygmomanometer is pushed (step S2601), the CPU 2120 initializes the operation memory of the sphygmomanometer, and carries out 0 mmHg adjustment of the pressure sensor 2103 (step S2602).

[0061] After the initialization process is terminated, the measurement conditions such as after dosing are input (step S2603) and the measurement switch is pushed (step S2604), so that the CPU 2120 acquires the current date and time from the timing unit 2115 (step S2605), and determines one or more of the blood pressure measurement parameters such as the pressurization value, the pressurization rate, and the depressurization rate (step S2606). The method of determining the blood pressure measurement parameter in step S2606 will be described later.

[0062] The cuff pressure is then pressurized up to a predetermined pressurization value by the pump 2104 (steps S2607 to S2608). The pressurization rate and the pressurization value used here are the pressurization rate and the pressurization value determined in step S2606.

[0063] After pressurizing up to the predetermined pressurization value, the CPU 2120 gradually depressurizes the cuff pressure with the valve 2105 (step S2609). The CPU 2120 extracts the pressure change component involved in the volume change of the artery superimposed on the cuff pressure obtained during the depressurization, and calculates a blood pressure through a predetermined calculation (step S2610). After calculating the blood pressure (step S2611: YES), the CPU 2120 opens the valve 2105 and exhausts the air in the cuff. The CPU 2120 displays the calculated blood pressure value on the display unit 2121 (step S2612), and records the same in the memory (for recording) 2123 in association with the date and time, the measurement value, and the measurement condition (dosing status) (step S2613).

[0064] In step S2606, the CPU 2120 determines the blood pressure measurement parameter in the following manner.

[0065] (When Blood Pressure Measurement Parameter is Pressurization Value)

[0066] The pressurization value generally needs to be set to a cuff pressure sufficiently higher than the systolic blood pressure. Specifically, the pressurization needs to be pressurized up to about systolic blood pressure+30 mmHg.

[0067] The pressurization value is set based on the recorded measurement data. Specifically, the CPU 2120 calls out a table as shown in FIG. 3 recorded in the memory (for recording) 2123. The table recorded in the memory (for recording) 2123 used herein records the measurement date and time ("YY (year)/MM (month)/DD (date)" . . . "hh (hour):mm (minute)" . . . in the figure), dosing status (measurement condition "after dosing" in the figure), and each measurement value such as blood pressure value and pulse rate ("SYS1 (systolic blood pressure)", "DIA1 (diastolic blood pressure)", "PLS1 (pulse rate)" in the figure) in association with each other as shown in FIG. 3.

[0068] The CPU 2120 then extracts the data closest to the current measurement date and time and/or the data in which the measurement condition indicating the dosing status or the like such as whether or not after dosing is the same from the measurement data recorded in the table.

[0069] The CPU 2120 sets the pressure obtained by adding 30 mmHg to the systolic blood pressure of the most recent data of the measurement data that matches with the above condition as the pressurization value.

[0070] When referring to closest to the measurement date and time, this means that at least one or more of the conditions including same measurement month, measurement of the same week, measurement of the same day of the week, and measurement of the same time matches with each other.

[0071] Not limited to using the systolic blood pressure of the most recent data of the measurement data that matches with the above conditions as described above, an average value of the systolic blood pressures of a plurality of measurement data that matches with the conditions may be used, and the pressure in which 30 mmHg is added to such average value may be set as the pressurization value.

[0072] Alternatively, a representative value of the systolic blood pressure of a plurality of measurement data that matches with the conditions may be used, and the pressure in which 30 mmHg is added to such representative value may be set as the pressurization value.

[0073] The representative value may be a maximum value, a median value, or the like of the plurality of data.

[0074] Furthermore, when the measurement data that matches with the measurement condition does not exist such as in the initial use of the sphygmomanometer, the pressurization value (e.g., 180 mmHg) determined in advance may be set. The systolic blood pressure may be estimated during the pressurization, and the pressure in which 30 mmHg is added to such estimated value may be set as the pressurization value, as described in patent documents 2, 3.

[0075] (When Blood Pressure Measurement Parameter is Depressurization Value)

[0076] The depressurization rate needs to be set to a speed at which the pulse wave amplitude information can be acquired in just proportion by the number necessary for the blood pressure calculation. The necessary number of pulse wave amplitude information is appropriately five or more, as described in Japanese Patent Publication. No. 3149873. As described in the same patent number, the depressurization rate that satisfies the same can be calculated by the systolic blood pressure (SYS), the diastolic blood pressure (DIA), and the pulse rate (PLS).

[0077] Similar to the pressurization value, the data closest to the current measurement date and time and/or the data in which the measurement condition is the same from the recorded measurement data is extracted, and the depressurization rate may be calculated based on the systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and the pulse rate recorded in the relevant data.

[0078] Similar to the pressurization value, if the measurement data that matches with the measurement condition does not exist such as in the initial use of the sphygmomanometer, the depressurization rate (e.g., 5.5 mmHg/sec) determined in advance may be set. Alternatively, as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3149873, the systolic blood pressure, the diastolic blood pressure, and the pulse rate may be estimated during the pressurization, and the depressurization rate calculated by such estimated value may be set.

[0079] The sphygmomanometer according to one or more embodiments of the present invention adopts a method of calculating the blood pressure during depressurization, but other embodiments may be directed to a sphygmomanometer of a method of calculating the blood pressure during pressurization.

[0080] In this case, the pressurization rate may be determined instead of the depressurization rate. The determining method is similar to the depressurization rate, and thus, the description thereof will be omitted.

[0081] The blood pressure changes depending on the surrounding environment such as the temperature at the time of the measurement. In the electronic sphygmomanometer, the blood pressure is measured with the dosing status as the measurement condition, but the measurement condition is not limited to the dosing status and may be the measurement date and time or the temperature at the time of the measurement. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, a table in which the measurement date and time, the temperature (temperature at the time of measurement "25.degree. C." in the figure) at the time of the measurement, and each measurement value such as the blood pressure value and the pulse rate are recorded in the memory 2123. The temperature changes by date (season) and time, and thus, only the measurement date and time and each measurement value may be recorded in association with each other in the memory 2123.

[0082] In this case, the user may input the information of the temperature using the measurement condition input switch 2641, or temperature measurement means may be incorporated in the electronic sphygmomanometer 2600 to acquire the information of the temperature based on the detection result of the relevant means.

[0083] The measurement condition is not limited to the dosing status, and may be information related to dosing such as type of drug being taken, or at least one of exercise content information such as dosing information, measurement place, illness information, or to what extent what kind of exercise is carried out, or lifestyle habit information related to meal, exercise, smoking, rest (break) or the like may be used as the measurement condition. In this case, the measurement condition input switch 2641 is configured such that various types of information may be input.

[0084] For instance, the blood pressure changes depending on various types of actions related to the lifestyle habit, and there is a difference in the blood pressure between before meal and after meal, after exercise and during rest, and before smoking and after smoking. As shown in FIG. 5, a table in which the measurement date and time ("Y1 (year)/M1 (month)/D1 (day)" . . . , "h1 (hour):m1 (minute)" . . . in the figure), the lifestyle habit information (measurement condition "after meal", "after exercise", "after smoking", and "during rest" . . . in the figure), and each measurement value such as the blood pressure value and the pulse rate are associated with each other may be used for the table recorded in the memory 2123.

[0085] There is a difference in blood pressure from the psychological stress the user is subjected to at the time of the measurement. Therefore, it is assumed that the difference occurs in the blood pressure from the measurement place, which is one measurement condition. For instance, the user is in a relaxed state in which there is barely any stress at home and is often in a state of great stress at the office, so that a difference may be generated in the measurement result between when the blood pressure measurement is carried out at home and when the blood pressure measurement is carried out at the office.

[0086] A table in which the measurement date and time, the measurement place (measurement place "home", "office", "hospital" etc. in the figure), and each measurement value such as blood pressure value and pulse rate are associated with each other, as shown in FIG. 6, may be used as a table to record in the memory 2123.

[0087] As described above, an electronic sphygmomanometer 2600 includes biological information acquiring means for measuring a blood pressure value, recording means (memory 2123) for recording the blood pressure value, means (memory 2122) for storing a control program of the sphygmomanometer, or the like, operation means (operation unit 2630) for carrying out operations such as blood pressure measurement, correcting means (CPU 2120) for correcting the biological information acquired by the biological information acquiring means based on separately acquired correction information, and output means (display unit 2121) for outputting the corrected information (blood pressure value) after the correction, and further including a cuff 2101 to be attached to a blood pressure measurement site, pressurization and depressurization means 2104, 2105 for adjusting pressure to be applied on the cuff 2101, pressure detection means (pressure sensor 2103) for detecting pressure in the cuff, and blood pressure calculating means (CPU 2120) for calculating the blood pressure value from the cuff pressure, the electronic sphygmomanometer further including condition information acquiring means (measurement condition input switch 2641) for acquiring information related to the condition at the time of the current blood pressure measurement, the recording means being configured to store the condition at the time of the blood pressure measurement acquired by the condition information acquiring means as the measurement record information along with the blood pressure value, and measurement record information acquiring means (CPU 2120 that executes step S2606) for acquiring the past measurement record information close to the condition at the time of the blood pressure measurement from the recording means as the correction information, where the correcting means (CPU 2120 that executes step S2606) is configured to correct a blood pressure measurement parameter based on the past measurement record information close to the condition at the time of the blood pressure measurement.

[0088] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the optimum blood pressure measurement parameter can be set for every user.

[0089] Furthermore, an appropriate blood pressure measurement parameter corresponding to the change in blood pressure caused by the difference in the surrounding environment (temperature herein) at the time of the measurement may be obtained by correcting the blood pressure measurement parameter with the condition at the time of the blood pressure measurement as the measurement date and time or as the temperature at the time of the measurement.

[0090] The measurement condition input switch 2641 serving as input means for inputting the condition at the time of the blood pressure measurement is arranged in the operation unit 2630 as the condition information acquiring means, and the condition input to the measurement condition input switch 2641 is recorded in the memory 2123 with the blood pressure value, so that various types of information relevant to the factors that change the blood pressure can be easily acquired. Thus, the appropriate blood pressure measurement parameter that takes into consideration each factor thus can be set.

[0091] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the blood pressure measurement parameter is corrected focusing on one of the dosing status, temperature, lifestyle habit information, measurement place and the like, which are the conditions at the time of the blood pressure measurement, but are not necessarily limited thereto, and some of the various measurement conditions may be combined. In this case, a more appropriate blood pressure measurement parameter can be set by using the measurement record information in which various measurement conditions match with each other.

[0092] Therefore, when a configuration of using the measurement record information in which a plurality of measurement conditions match with each other is adopted, the measurement record information with more matching measurement conditions is to be preferentially extracted.

[0093] However, a difference may possibly occur in the blood pressure value in a case where the measurement time (morning, night), or timing of measurement (after meal, before meal, etc.) is different even if dosing status and a few other measurement conditions match with each other.

[0094] The measurement record information in which a certain specific condition and a few other conditions match with each other may be outside the target of extraction in a case where another certain specific condition is different. In this case, a table in which the matching measurement condition and the measurement condition determined as outside the target of extraction when the conditions are different are associated with each other is recorded in the memory 2123, or the like, and the CPU 2120 may determine the measurement record information as outside the target of extraction when the measurement condition determined as outside the target of extraction is different.

[0095] As described above, the electronic sphygmomanometer 2600 according to one or more embodiments of the present invention includes input means (measurement condition input switch 2641) for inputting measurement conditions in the operation means (operation unit 2630), and records the measurement condition such as the measurement place, the illness information, the dosing status, and the exercise with the blood pressure value in the recording means (memory 2122, 2123).

[0096] Embodiments of the present invention are not limited only to the above-described embodiments, and a great number of embodiments can be realized.

[0097] For example, the electronic sphygmomanometer 2600 may be configured to download an appropriate parameter, threshold value, algorithm, or the like from a dedicated server to expand the function. In this case, the version of the software may be upgraded with the hardware as is, or optimization can be easily realized by the user himself/herself.

[0098] The function expansion of the electronic sphygmomanometer 2600 may be executed from a user terminal such as a personal computer possessed by the user without using the server. In this case, the parameter, the threshold value, the algorithm, and the like may be downloaded from a recording medium such as a CD-ROM.

[0099] The electronic sphygmomanometer 2600 may be directly and communicably connected wirelessly or by wire to other biological information acquiring device such as a body composition meter, a pedometer, or an electronic thermometer. In this case as well, data may be mutually transmitted and received to enhance the individual accuracy.

[0100] Embodiments of the present invention can be used in the electronic sphygmomanometer adopting the oscillometric method that uses the cuff or the microphone method.

[0101] While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate that other embodiments can be devised which do not depart from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the attached claims.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0102] 2600 electronic sphygmomanometer [0103] 2101 cuff [0104] 2103 pressure sensor [0105] 2104 pump [0106] 2105 valve [0107] 2115 timing unit [0108] 2120 CPU [0109] 2121 display unit [0110] 2122 memory (for processing) [0111] 2123 memory (for recording) [0112] 2630 operation unit [0113] 2641 measurement condition input switch

Claims

1. An electronic sphygmomanometer comprising: a cuff to be attached to a blood pressure measurement site; pressurization and depressurization means for adjusting a pressure applied on the cuff; pressure detection means for detecting the pressure in the cuff; blood pressure calculating means for calculating a blood pressure value from the cuff pressure; recording means for recording the blood pressure value; operation means for carrying out a blood pressure measurement; condition information acquiring means for acquiring information related to a plurality of types of various measurement conditions at a time of current blood pressure measurement, wherein the recording means stores the various measurement conditions at the time of the blood pressure measurement acquired by the condition information acquiring means as measurement record information along with the blood pressure value; measurement record information acquiring means for acquiring past measurement record information close to the various measurement conditions at the time of the blood pressure measurement from the recording means; and correcting means for correcting a blood pressure measurement parameter based on the measurement record information when the past measurement record information close to the condition at the time of the blood pressure measurement is acquired by the measurement record information acquiring means, wherein the measurement record information acquiring means preferentially extracts measurement record information with greater matching measurement conditions.

2. The electronic sphygmomanometer according to claim 1, wherein the measurement record information acquiring means comprises measurement record information in which a certain specific condition and a few other conditions match as outside a target of extraction if another certain specific condition is different.

3. The electronic sphygmomanometer according to claim 2, wherein the recording means stores a matching measurement condition and a measurement condition determined as outside the target of extraction when the conditions are different in association with each other.

4. A blood pressure measurement method for adjusting pressure to be applied to a cuff with pressurization and depressurization means when the cuff is attached to a blood pressure measurement site, and calculating a blood pressure value by blood pressure calculating means based on a cuff pressure detected by pressure detection means, the blood pressure measurement method comprising the steps of: acquiring information related to a plurality of types of various measurement conditions at a time of current blood pressure measurement with condition information acquiring means; storing the various measurement conditions at the time of the blood pressure measurement acquired by the condition information acquiring means as measurement record information along with the blood pressure value in a recording means; acquiring past measurement record information close to the various measurement conditions at the time of the blood pressure measurement from the recoding means by measurement record information acquiring means; and correcting a blood pressure measurement parameter based on measurement record information by correcting means when the past measurement record information close to the various measurement conditions at the time of the blood pressure measurement is acquired by the measurement record information acquiring means from the recording means, wherein the step of acquiring measurement record information close to the various measurement conditions by the measurement record information acquiring means is comprises preferentially extracting measurement record information with greater matching measurement conditions.

5. The blood pressure measurement method according to claim 4, wherein the step of acquiring measurement record information close to the various measurement conditions by the measurement record information acquiring means comprises measurement record information in which a certain specific condition and a few other conditions match as outside a target of extraction if another certain specific condition is different.

6. The blood pressure measurement method according to claim 5, wherein the step of storing in the recording means comprises storing a matching measurement condition and a measurement condition determined as outside the target of extraction when the conditions are different in association with each other.