Possibility of non-invasive blood pressure estimation by measurements of force and arteries diameter

Ultrasound examination is the first line procedure for the diagnosis and follow-up of cardiovascular diseases. Instrumenting an ultrasound probe with a force sensor may improve thenon-invasive measurement of arterial biomechanical parameters (diameter, pulsatility, intima-media thickness and flow-dependent dilation) by measuring and controlling the force exerted by the sonographer. We present here the results obtained with this approach coupled with image processing for the measurement of arterial diameter changes during the cardiac cycle and dynamic tests. The analysis of artery force feedback provided non-invasively an estimation of blood pressure waveform.