A Method to Estimate Peripheral Systolic Blood Pressure using Pulse Transit Time during Bicycle Ergometer Exercise of Healthy Korean Subjects in their Twenties

A simple algorithm that can be used to estimate a healthy person's blood pressure using pulse transit time is proposed in this paper. Fifty healthy students participated in the experiment that was conducted in line with the study. The subjects were asked to exercise on several exercise levels using a bicycle ergometer. Their blood pressures during the succeeding rest period were measured. A simple method was proposed to illustrate the relationship between blood pressure and pulse transit time. The systolic blood pressures as well as the heights and weights of the subjects were regarded as the proper parameters, and a second-order regression curve was produced to estimate the subjects' blood pressures. The mean error of estimation was less than 10 mmHg, which was the mean error of manual measurement. Although our estimation model is so simple, it can be used to estimate continuous blood pressure measurement for bicycle ergometer exercise. The electrocardiograms, photoplethysmograms, and blood pressures, however, could not be measured simultaneously As such, their estimation may be slightly different from the results taken from simultaneous measurements.