From Manual to Digital The Evolution of Blood Pressure Checking Machines

1. From Manual to Digital: The Evolution of Blood Pressure Checking Machines The ability to measure and read blood pressure has been a massive achievement in the field of medicine and healthcare. Through the measurement of blood pressure, ailments like white coat hypertension and cardiac anomalies can prompt action can be taken for its treatment and prevention. Throughout history, like all inventions, the Blood Pressure Monitor has also experienced evolution. Currently, what is most notably seen are digital blood pressure- checking machines. However, what is now standard, started off with manual blood pressure machines. Manual Blood pressure monitors have always had a simple design which made them effective and simple to use and for 150 years, the model has remained relatively unchanged. The manual blood pressure machine work by placing a cuff around the upper arm of the patient and slowly increasing the pressure by inflating the cuff using a manual rubber or silicone pump. These manual machines are either mercury based which uses the height of the mercury column to make readings or aneroid-based machines which make use of a small pressure gauge to establish the systolic pressure in the arteries. With the passage of time, the use of mercury-based blood pressure machines became less applicable with aneroid sphygmomanometers (blood pressure devices) becoming the stipe owing to their smaller size, making them more portable and easier to use. Fast forwarding to recent decades, technology has advanced in leaps and bounds which has drastically impacted the way in which medicine is able to help people and improve the standard of living. Even though the manual blood pressure machine can still be seen in use, digital blood pressure apparatuses have become the new standard for BP meters. Using the same approach as manual blood pressure machines, a digital Automatic BP Machine replaces the pressure gauge with a digital monitor which displays the pressure readings. Further still, blood pressure machines are evolving with many variations like arm-cuff and wrist-cuff blood pressure monitors are widely available for home use. BP measuring technology has come a long way to the point where there are finger blood pressure apps that measure blood pressure using just applications running on a smartphone. Such methods have a high degree of accuracy and do not need the use of a cuff to get accurate readings, thereby increasing the versatility of blood pressure measurement. As time passes, and technology continues to advance, the means of measuring blood pressure will also continue to evolve and grow. Through the mapping of the evolution of blood pressure machines, the importance of technological advancements in healthcare and medicine can be properly realised while solidifying the need for accurate blood pressure measurements at a moment's notice.