title: Practical Suitability of a Stand-Alone Oscillometric Central Blood Pressure Monitor: A Review of the Microlife WatchBP Office Central.
abstract: Accumulating evidence indicates that central blood pressure (CBP) is a better cardiovascular risk predictor than brachial blood pressure (BP). Although more additional benefits of CBP-based treatment above usual hypertension treatment are to be demonstrated, the demand for implementing CBP assessment in general clinical practice is increasing. For this, the measurement procedure must be noninvasive, easy to perform, and cost- and time-efficient. Therefore, oscillometric devices with the possibility to assess CBP seem the best option. Recently, such an oscillometric BP monitor, the Microlife WatchBP Office Central, was developed, which demonstrated its high accuracy in a validation study against invasive BP measurement. Calibration errors of this device are limited because the procedure is automated, standardized, and performed at the same place of and within 30 s from pulse wave assessment. The transformation from the peripheral pulse wave to CBP is done by means of an individual-based pulse wave analysis according to a theory of arterial compliance and wave reflections. In addition, the device has demonstrated to enable a more reliable diagnosis of hypertension by CBP than by peripheral BP, with a lower frequency of over- and underdiagnosis. Altogether, the available clinical evidence suggests that the Microlife WatchBP Office Central fulfills the criteria for general clinical use.
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (CARIM), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands; Department of Research and Development, Microlife Corporation, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Willem J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Verberk
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; Department of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; Department of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Hao-Min
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Research and Development, Microlife Corporation, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Li-Chih
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Research and Development, Microlife Corporation, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Chia-Ming
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Research and Development, Microlife Corporation, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Yao-Pin
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Teng
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; Department of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; Department of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Chen-Huan
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chen
keywords: Blood pressure; Central pulse pressure; Hypertension; Oscillometric signals; Pressure wave reflection; Pulse volume plethysmography; Pulse wave analysis