Apple patents stretchable cuff that keeps blood pressure readings steady
Apple has been granted a patent for a blood pressure cuff that uses a secondary fluid-filled bladder to maintain a constant width around the arm. This internal bladder stretches and shrinks to counteract changes in the main measurement bladder, ensuring the cuff stays snug during inflation.
In the filing’s own words
Embodiments include a blood pressure measurement device that includes a cuff for measuring blood pressure of a user. The cuff may include a bladder assembly configured to retain a fluid within an internal chamber where the bladder assembly is formed from a first cell defining a first portion of the internal chamber that is connected with a second cell defining a second portion of the internal chamber. The bladder assembly can also include a fluid passage that is in fluid communication with the first cell and the second cell and coupled with a reservoir. The bladder assembly can exchange the fluid with the reservoir and be configured to increase in length when a volume of the fluid in the internal chamber decreases, and decrease in length when the volume of the fluid in the internal chamber increases.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A cuff for measuring blood pressure of a user, comprising: a cuff configured to wrap at least partially around a limb of the user; a measurement bladder configured to restrict blood flow through the limb of the user when measuring blood pressure of the user; a pump fluidly coupled to the measurement bladder; a pressure sensor configured to measure pressure within the measurement bladder when measuring the blood pressure of the user; a bladder assembly coupled with the cuff, configured to retain a fluid within an internal chamber and maintain a circumferential dimension when a volume of the fluid within the internal chamber is held constant, the bladder assembly comprising: a cell defining at least a portion of the internal chamber; and a fluid passage in fluid communication with the cell; a reservoir coupled with the fluid passage and configured to exchange the fluid with the bladder assembly; and a valve configured to control the exchange of the fluid between the bladder assembly and the reservoir; wherein: the bladder assembly, the reservoir, and the valve are isolated from the measurement bladder and the pump; the bladder assembly is configured to: increase in length when a volume of the fluid in the internal chamber decreases; and decrease in length when the volume of the fluid in the internal chamber increases; and when measuring the blood pressure of the user, the valve is configured to prevent movement of fluid between the bladder assembly and the reservoir such that the volume of the fluid within the chamber is held constant and the pump is operated to inflate the measurement bladder.
Facts
- Company
- Apple (Apple Inc.)
- Official title
- Stretchable blood pressure cuff
- Patent number
- US12727772B2
- Application number
- 17210371
- Filed
- Mar 23, 2021
- Granted
- Sep 8, 2026
- Inventors
- 4
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
A61B 5/02233 Human necessitiesA61B 5/0235 Human necessitiesA61B 5/6824 Human necessitiesA61B 2560/04 Human necessitiesMore from Apple in Health & body
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.