Assessing the challenges of a pulse wave velocity based blood pressure measurement in surgical patients.

Development of a continuous noninvasive blood pressure (cNIBP) monitor that is unobtrusive to patients is an attractive alternative to the cuff based measurements performed on medical-surgical floors in the hospital. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) provides a means to continuously monitor blood pressure in these patients. However, a PWV based cNIBP monitor faces a number of challenges in order to accurately measure blood pressure.

Towards the prevention of pressure ulcers with a wearable patient posture monitor based on adaptive accelerometer alignment.

Pressure ulcers are a serious problem affecting over a million patients every year. Despite accepted guidelines for assessing and repositioning high-risk patients, the prevalence of pressure ulcers continues to rise. This paper presents a wearable, wireless vital sign monitor capable of continuously measuring the duration and orientation of a patient's posture throughout the patient's stay in a hospital.