Semi-invasive method for instantaneous and phasic measurement of arterial blood pressure.

A method for the instantaneous and phasic measurement of arterial blood pressure that eliminates the necessity of entry of the artery is described. This is accomplished with a miniature strain gauge transducer enclosed within a plastic cuff which is positioned around the artery. The device is suitable for monitoring arterial pressure in seriously ill patients and for chronic measurements of pressure in untrained and unanesthetized laboratory animals. The system was found to be stable, and recorded pressures were virtually identical to those measured intra-arterially with a catheter-tip micromanometer.