Noninvasive BP Monitoring Aid for Anesthesiologists

A new device that measures blood pressure (BP) noninvasively is designed to provide anesthesiologists with better control over patient safety during surgery by allowing them to quickly monitor and manage blood pressure variations. The device has been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Called T-Line, the device employs a transdermal pressure sensor to noninvasively extract the continuous, beat-to-beat pressure waveform from the radial artery without the use of any external calibration device. The T-Line has been found to be far more effective than the traditional cuff method and has clinically equivalent accuracy to that of the arterial line (A-line). The device displays a high-fidelity waveform on standard operating room monitors or on its own screen to demonstrate real-time measurement and monitoring.

The T-Line has been tested in around 500 surgical cases nationwide. Based on patented technology called Tensymetry, the T-Line was developed by Tensys Medical (San Diego, CA, USA). In contrast to the continuous measurement of its device, the company notes that the traditional cuff BP method provides only intermittent readings once every three-to-five minutes at best.

"I personally experienced the effectiveness and accuracy of the T-Line first-hand in the operating room,” said David W. Wakefield, M.D., division chief, anesthesia, at Waukesha Memorial Hospital (Milwaukee, WI, USA). "For the first time, I can noninvasively manage blood pressure in real-time.”




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Tensys Medical