title: A simple device for the direct measurement of mean arterial pressure and for calibration of arterial pressure monitors.
abstract: A simple, inexpensive mechanical device is described for the direct continuous measurement of mean arterial pressure. It can be assembled in minutes using a few dollars worth of sterile components commonly available in an intensive care unit. Mean arterial pressure determined in patients with this device differs by 1.6 mmHg +/- 1.1 SD from mean arterial pressure simultaneously measured by properly calibrated Hewlett-Packard electronic monitors (N = 5), a non-significant difference. Similar agreement was obtained when the device was tested using a commercial blood pressure system calibrator as the pressure source. This device also allows rapid static calibration of electronic pressure transducers across the full range of human blood pressure using a 3 ml syringe as the pressure source and an aneroid gauge, or mercury column, as the pressure standard.
mesh_terms: D001698:Biomedical Engineering; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000295:instrumentation