Never repaired one myself but what don't you understand? It measures
As I understand it, some of them use sound to trigger the
Not the kind of thing one should repair, unless its a personal project.
OK, here's the story then. Not a repair as such, hence the "slightly OT" in
"Charles" <charlesschuler@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:gs8a2e$6bb$1@news.motzarella.org...
"Arfa Daily" <arfa.daily@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:BRDFl.13825$vI1.8362@newsfe14.ams2...
Anyone on here had any experience of repairs to blood pressure measuring
equipment, to the point of understanding properly the principles
involved ?
Not the kind of thing one should repair, unless its a personal project.
Even then, I think it's a bad idea.
OK, here's the story then. Not a repair as such, hence the "slightly OT"
in the subject.
The unit is actually mine. It's a fully automatic job, made by Nissei, who
are quite respected in the field, I believe. It has a wrist-sized velcro
secured air cuff, connected to the main unit by a single small bore air
hose. No electrical connections between the two. When you hit the "start"
button, the cuff inflates to a preset (selectable for four values)
pressure, which is shown on the LCD as a genuinely 'measured' - i.e. not
just a figure put there by the CPU - mmhg value. The machine then starts a
controlled deflation of the cuff, picking up pulse soon after this starts.
It appears to be assessing blood stopped / blood flowing by measuring the
minute changes in air pressure in the connecting tube, caused by the vein
pulsing under the cuff.
Now, I've recently been sucked into the 'high blood pressure' thing by my
doctor's surgery, and they are determined to treat me for it. Fair enough.
However, my 'clinical care expert' - actually a feisty practice nurse with
the disposition of a bear with a thorn in its paw - will not accept that a
blood pressure monitor that does its measuring from the wrist, has any
validity at all. I would like to be able to monitor my own pressure on a
compatible basis with her, because I feel that I am a rather good example
of elevated pressure due to white coat syndrome. This is a factor that she
seems to ignore as being a contributory element to any readings. I don't
dispute that my blood pressure is higher than ideal, I just don't think
that it is as high (on average) as she insists it is, and I don't want to
be over-medicated for the condition.
So, onto the real question. My monitor is just about identical to the one
she is using in the surgery. Same measurement sequence, same sound from
the compressor, similar sized unit, similar length of time to inflate and
deflate etc. The only difference is that mine has a plug-in wrist cuff,
and hers has a plug-in arm cuff. She actually changed to a larger sized
cuff to fit my arm when I was in there a couple of weeks ago, which is
what led me to my next thought. Arm cuffs, on their own, are available
from a pharmacy chain store down the road. They're not cheap, but nothing
like as expensive as a whole new machine. Given that it seems to work by
measuring the pressure pumped into the cuff to reach a primary inflation
point to work down from, and then apparently does the 'business'
measurements by looking at the pressure variations caused by the vein
inside the cuff pulsing, can anyone see why my monitor should not work
just the same with an arm cuff plugged in, instead of a wrist cuff ? I
don't really want to just shell out on an arm cuff in the fond hope that
it *will* work, and then find out that it doesn't, but then neither do I
want to spend even more money on a replacement unit, if I don't have to.
Any opinions / insights / genuine knowledge anyone ?
Arfa
Lot of pharmacy's have free use BP set ups for customers. Why not try one
of them and on other arm use yours and compare. Warren
Yes, I suppose I could as long as they don't mind taking a cuff out of theOK, here's the story then. Not a repair as such, hence the "slightly OT"
in the subject.
The unit is actually mine. It's a fully automatic job, made by Nissei,
who are quite respected in the field, I believe. It has a wrist-sized
velcro secured air cuff, connected to the main unit by a single small
bore air hose. No electrical connections between the two. When you hit
the "start" button, the cuff inflates to a preset (selectable for four
values) pressure, which is shown on the LCD as a genuinely 'measured' -
i.e. not just a figure put there by the CPU - mmhg value. The machine
then starts a controlled deflation of the cuff, picking up pulse soon
after this starts. It appears to be assessing blood stopped / blood
flowing by measuring the minute changes in air pressure in the connecting
tube, caused by the vein pulsing under the cuff.
Now, I've recently been sucked into the 'high blood pressure' thing by my
doctor's surgery, and they are determined to treat me for it. Fair
enough. However, my 'clinical care expert' - actually a feisty practice
nurse with the disposition of a bear with a thorn in its paw - will not
accept that a blood pressure monitor that does its measuring from the
wrist, has any validity at all. I would like to be able to monitor my own
pressure on a compatible basis with her, because I feel that I am a
rather good example of elevated pressure due to white coat syndrome. This
is a factor that she seems to ignore as being a contributory element to
any readings. I don't dispute that my blood pressure is higher than
ideal, I just don't think that it is as high (on average) as she insists
it is, and I don't want to be over-medicated for the condition.
So, onto the real question. My monitor is just about identical to the one
she is using in the surgery. Same measurement sequence, same sound from
the compressor, similar sized unit, similar length of time to inflate and
deflate etc. The only difference is that mine has a plug-in wrist cuff,
and hers has a plug-in arm cuff. She actually changed to a larger sized
cuff to fit my arm when I was in there a couple of weeks ago, which is
what led me to my next thought. Arm cuffs, on their own, are available
from a pharmacy chain store down the road. They're not cheap, but nothing
like as expensive as a whole new machine. Given that it seems to work by
measuring the pressure pumped into the cuff to reach a primary inflation
point to work down from, and then apparently does the 'business'
measurements by looking at the pressure variations caused by the vein
inside the cuff pulsing, can anyone see why my monitor should not work
just the same with an arm cuff plugged in, instead of a wrist cuff ? I
don't really want to just shell out on an arm cuff in the fond hope that
it *will* work, and then find out that it doesn't, but then neither do I
want to spend even more money on a replacement unit, if I don't have to.
Any opinions / insights / genuine knowledge anyone ?
Arfa
Lot of pharmacy's have free use BP set ups for customers. Why not try one
of them and on other arm use yours and compare. Warren
Good Morning Arfa,"Charles" <charlesschuler@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:gs8a2e$6bb$1@news.motzarella.org...
"Arfa Daily" <arfa.daily@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:BRDFl.13825$vI1.8362@newsfe14.ams2...
Anyone on here had any experience of repairs to blood pressure
measuring equipment, to the point of understanding properly the
principles involved ?
Not the kind of thing one should repair, unless its a personal
project. Even then, I think it's a bad idea.
OK, here's the story then. Not a repair as such, hence the "slightly
OT" in the subject.
The unit is actually mine. It's a fully automatic job, made by Nissei,
who are quite respected in the field, I believe. It has a wrist-sized
velcro secured air cuff, connected to the main unit by a single small
bore air hose. No electrical connections between the two. When you hit
the "start" button, the cuff inflates to a preset (selectable for four
values) pressure, which is shown on the LCD as a genuinely 'measured'
- i.e. not just a figure put there by the CPU - mmhg value. The
machine then starts a controlled deflation of the cuff, picking up
pulse soon after this starts. It appears to be assessing blood stopped
/ blood flowing by measuring the minute changes in air pressure in the
connecting tube, caused by the vein pulsing under the cuff.
Now, I've recently been sucked into the 'high blood pressure' thing by
my doctor's surgery, and they are determined to treat me for it. Fair
enough. However, my 'clinical care expert' - actually a feisty
practice nurse with the disposition of a bear with a thorn in its paw
- will not accept that a blood pressure monitor that does its
measuring from the wrist, has any validity at all. I would like to be
able to monitor my own pressure on a compatible basis with her,
because I feel that I am a rather good example of elevated pressure
due to white coat syndrome. This is a factor that she seems to ignore
as being a contributory element to any readings. I don't dispute that
my blood pressure is higher than ideal, I just don't think that it is
as high (on average) as she insists it is, and I don't want to be
over-medicated for the condition.
So, onto the real question. My monitor is just about identical to the
one she is using in the surgery. Same measurement sequence, same sound
from the compressor, similar sized unit, similar length of time to
inflate and deflate etc. The only difference is that mine has a
plug-in wrist cuff, and hers has a plug-in arm cuff. She actually
changed to a larger sized cuff to fit my arm when I was in there a
couple of weeks ago, which is what led me to my next thought. Arm
cuffs, on their own, are available from a pharmacy chain store down
the road. They're not cheap, but nothing like as expensive as a whole
new machine. Given that it seems to work by measuring the pressure
pumped into the cuff to reach a primary inflation point to work down
from, and then apparently does the 'business' measurements by looking
at the pressure variations caused by the vein inside the cuff pulsing,
can anyone see why my monitor should not work just the same with an
arm cuff plugged in, instead of a wrist cuff ? I don't really want to
just shell out on an arm cuff in the fond hope that it *will* work,
and then find out that it doesn't, but then neither do I want to spend
even more money on a replacement unit, if I don't have to.
Any opinions / insights / genuine knowledge anyone ?
Arfa
I feel quite sure *technique* is the issue.
Can't help with the wrist vs arm question. A spare cuff (3 sizes) is Ł2.99 from
"Charles" <charlesschuler@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:gs8a2e$6bb$1@news.motzarella.org...
"Arfa Daily" <arfa.daily@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:BRDFl.13825$vI1.8362@newsfe14.ams2...
Anyone on here had any experience of repairs to blood pressure measuring
equipment, to the point of understanding properly the principles involved
?
Not the kind of thing one should repair, unless its a personal project.
Even then, I think it's a bad idea.
OK, here's the story then. Not a repair as such, hence the "slightly OT" in
the subject.
The unit is actually mine. It's a fully automatic job, made by Nissei, who
are quite respected in the field, I believe. It has a wrist-sized velcro
secured air cuff, connected to the main unit by a single small bore air
hose. No electrical connections between the two. When you hit the "start"
button, the cuff inflates to a preset (selectable for four values) pressure,
which is shown on the LCD as a genuinely 'measured' - i.e. not just a figure
put there by the CPU - mmhg value. The machine then starts a controlled
deflation of the cuff, picking up pulse soon after this starts. It appears
to be assessing blood stopped / blood flowing by measuring the minute
changes in air pressure in the connecting tube, caused by the vein pulsing
under the cuff.
Now, I've recently been sucked into the 'high blood pressure' thing by my
doctor's surgery, and they are determined to treat me for it. Fair enough.
However, my 'clinical care expert' - actually a feisty practice nurse with
the disposition of a bear with a thorn in its paw - will not accept that a
blood pressure monitor that does its measuring from the wrist, has any
validity at all. I would like to be able to monitor my own pressure on a
compatible basis with her, because I feel that I am a rather good example of
elevated pressure due to white coat syndrome. This is a factor that she
seems to ignore as being a contributory element to any readings. I don't
dispute that my blood pressure is higher than ideal, I just don't think that
it is as high (on average) as she insists it is, and I don't want to be
over-medicated for the condition.
So, onto the real question. My monitor is just about identical to the one
she is using in the surgery. Same measurement sequence, same sound from the
compressor, similar sized unit, similar length of time to inflate and
deflate etc. The only difference is that mine has a plug-in wrist cuff, and
hers has a plug-in arm cuff. She actually changed to a larger sized cuff to
fit my arm when I was in there a couple of weeks ago, which is what led me
to my next thought. Arm cuffs, on their own, are available from a pharmacy
chain store down the road. They're not cheap, but nothing like as expensive
as a whole new machine. Given that it seems to work by measuring the
pressure pumped into the cuff to reach a primary inflation point to work
down from, and then apparently does the 'business' measurements by looking
at the pressure variations caused by the vein inside the cuff pulsing, can
anyone see why my monitor should not work just the same with an arm cuff
plugged in, instead of a wrist cuff ? I don't really want to just shell out
on an arm cuff in the fond hope that it *will* work, and then find out that
it doesn't, but then neither do I want to spend even more money on a
replacement unit, if I don't have to.
Any opinions / insights / genuine knowledge anyone ?
Arfa
ANother thing, have the doctor remeasure the pressure after you have been
Arfa, before expending the money, at your next visit simply take your unit
that Lloyds Pharmacy chain do a range of 'own brand' fully automatic BP
I would have to say they work the same.
I've been taking my blood pressure regularly for about 8 years usingAny opinions / insights / genuine knowledge anyone ?
Some interesting stuff there Jeff. I guess the deeper in the vein is, theOn Fri, 17 Apr 2009 01:41:21 +0100, "Arfa Daily"
arfa.daily@ntlworld.com> wrote:
Any opinions / insights / genuine knowledge anyone ?
I've been taking my blood pressure regularly for about 8 years using
an assortment of BP measuring machines. My latest is an Omron
HEM-775.
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/crud/bp.jpg> (a bit old)
None of the motorized variety work for me and always read far too
high. When do it at the doctors office of myself with a stethescope
and manual cuff, the BP reads correctly and typically 120/75. After
many experiments and discussions with doctors, nurses, Omron, and the
local witch doctor, the current guess is that my veins are located
much deeper in the arm than would normally be expected. The manual BP
method probably compensates for this, but the electronic BP meter does
not.
I've also tried a cheap wrist cuff meter, which was admittely more
convenient, but resulted in much larger variations in BP as with the
motorized BP arm cuff. While the arm cuff was not particularly
accurate (for me), it was fairly consistent. I can't say the same for
the wrist cuff. I suggest you avoid using a wrist cuff and stay with
the arm cuff.
Incidentally, at one point, my cardiologist decided to trust the
readings from my long history of BP from the motorized BP meter. He
increased the dosage of my assorted BP medicines. After a few days, I
was phlegmatic and nearly passed out several times. My real BP went
too low. We went back to believing the office manual BP measurements
or used a mathematically fudged version of my graphs.
At one time, I thought that the BP meter was in some way defective. By
comparing it with 4 other motorized meters, I eventually determined
that this was not the case. However, that didn't stop me from ripping
it apart to see how it works. Basically, a pump, pressure transducer,
calibrated leak, and microprocessor for storing and presenting the
results. Some had pressure calibration adjustments, but most did not.
Other than mechanical damage, there's not much to repair inside.
--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558