Fluid-filled blood pressure measurement systems.

The performance of catheter-manometer systems for the measurement of pulsatile pressure has been evaluated by both experimental techniques and theoretical considerations. The former approach has shown, on occasion, multiple maxima in the amplitude response. The latter has been approached in a variety of ways, ranging from extreme lumping to application of transmission line theory while employing different configurations in the system's representation. Multiple maxima have also been seen, The present paper identifies the sources of the differences found and compares the relative merits of various theoretical approaches. It introduces the compliance of the system as a figure of merit and provides a simple first-order approximation formula for evaluation of the quality of a system. Damping and impedance matching to improve the system's frequency response were studied. It was found that they were not needed in a very stiff or a very compliant system, nor should one worry about the representation of such a system.