Freescale Semiconductor

Application Note

AN1571
Rev 1, 05/2005

Digital Blood Pressure Meter

by: C.S. Chua and Siew Mun Hin, Sensor Application Engineering
Singapore, A/P

INTRODUCTION

obtained by identifying the region where there is a rapid

increase then decrease in the amplitude of the pulses
respectively. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) is located at the
point of maximum oscillation.

This application note describes a Digital Blood Pressure

Meter concept which uses an integrated pressure sensor,
analog signal-conditioning circuitry, microcontroller
hardware/software and a liquid crystal display. The sensing
system reads the cuff pressure (CP) and extracts the pulses
for analysis and determination of systolic and diastolic
pressure. This design uses a 50 kPa integrated pressure
sensor (Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.P/N: MPXV5050GP)
yielding a pressure range of 0 mm Hg to 300 mm Hg.

HARDWARE DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION

The cuff pressure is sensed by Freescale's integrated
pressure X-ducer. The output of the sensor is split into two
paths for two different purposes. One is used as the cuff
pressure while the other is further processed by a circuit.
Since MPXV5050GP is signal-conditioned by its internal opamp, the cuff pressure can be directly interfaced with an
analog-to-digital (A/D) converter for digitization. The other
path will filter and amplify the raw CP signal to extract an
amplified version of the CP oscillations, which are caused by
the expansion of the subject's arm each time pressure in the
arm increases during cardiac systole.
The output of the sensor consists of two signals; the
oscillation signal ( 1 Hz) riding on the CP signal ( 0.04 Hz).
Hence, a 2-pole high pass filter is designed to block the CP
signal before the amplification of the oscillation signal. If the
CP signal is not properly attenuated, the baseline of the
oscillation will not be constant and the amplitude of each
oscillation will not have the same reference for comparison.
Figure 1 shows the oscillation signal amplifier together with
the filter.

CONCEPT OF OSCILLOMETRIC METHOD

This method is employed by the majority of automated noninvasive devices. A limb and its vasculature are compressed
by an encircling, inflatable compression cuff. The blood
pressure reading for systolic and diastolic blood pressure
values are read at the parameter identification point.
The simplified measurement principle of the oscillometric
method is a measurement of the amplitude of pressure
change in the cuff as the cuff is inflated from above the systolic
pressure. The amplitude suddenly grows larger as the pulse
breaks through the occlusion. This is very close to systolic
pressure. As the cuff pressure is further reduced, the pulsation
increase in amplitude, reaches a maximum and then
diminishes rapidly. The index of diastolic pressure is taken
where this rapid transition begins. Therefore, the systolic
blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) are
+DC Offset

11

0.33

1
LM324N

U1a

11

R1

1k

C1

33u

R2
150k

Figure 1. Oscillation Signal Amplifier

Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., 2005. All rights reserved.

Vo

1M

4
3

Vi

C2

R3

+5.0V

two cut-off frequencies can be approximated by the following

equations. Figure 2describes the frequency response of the
filter. This plot does not include the gain of the amplifier.

The filter consists of two RC networks which determine two

cut-off frequencies. These two poles are carefully chosen to
ensure that the oscillation signal is not distorted or lost. The
1

P1 =

2R1C1

P2 =

2R3C2

10
0
-10

Attenuation (dB)

-20
Oscillation Signal (1 Hz)

-30
-40
-50

CP Signal (0.04 Hz)

-60
-70
-80

0.01

0.1

10

100

Frequency (Hz)

Figure 2. Filter Frequency

The oscillation signal varies from person to person. In
general, it varies from less than 1 mm Hg to 3 mm Hg. From
the transfer function of MPXV5050GP, this will translate to a
voltage output of 12 mV to 36 mV signal. Since the filter gives
an attenuation of 10 dB to the 1 Hz signal, the oscillation signal
becomes 3.8 mV to 11.4 mV respectively. Experiments

indicate that, the amplification factor of the amplifier is chosen

to be 150 so that the amplified oscillation signal is within the
output limit of the amplifier (5.0 mV to 3.5 V). Figure 3 shows
the output from the pressure sensor and Figure 4 illustrates
the extracted oscillation signal at the output of the amplifier.

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3
2.5

Vi (Volts)

2
1.5
Oscillation signal is extracted here
1
0.5
0

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Time (seconds)

Figure 3. CP Signal at the Output of the Pressure Sensor

3.5

MAP

SBP

DBP

Vo (Volts)

2.5
2
1.5

1
0.5
0
10

15

20

25

30

35

Time (seconds)

Figure 4. Extracted Oscillation Signal at the Output of Amplifier

Referring to the schematic, Figure 5, the MPX5050GP
pressure sensor is connected to PORT D bit 5 and the output
of the amplifier is connected to PORT D bit 6 of the
microcontroller. This port is an input to the on-chip 8-bit
analog-to-digital (A/D) converter. The pressure sensor
provides a signal output to the microprocessor of
approximately 0.2 Vdc at 0 mm Hg to 4.7 Vdc at 375 mm Hg
of applied pressure whereas the amplifier provides a signal
from 0.005 V to 3.5 V. In order to maximize the resolution,
separate voltage references should be provided for the A/D
instead of using the 5 V supply. In this example, the input
range of the A/D converter is set at approximately 0 Vdc to 3.8
Vdc. This compresses the range of the A/D converter around
0 mm Hg to 300 mm Hg to maximize the resolution; 0 to 255

counts is the range of the A/D converter. VRH and VRL are the
reference voltage inputs to the A/D converter. The resolution
is defined by the following:
Count = [(VXdcr - VRL)/(VRH - VRL)] x 255
The count at 0 mm Hg = [(0.2 - 0)/(3.8 - 0)] x 255 14
The count at 300 mm Hg = [(3.8 - 0)/(3.8 - 0)] x 255 255
Therefore the resolution = 255 - 14 = 241 counts. This
translates to a system that will resolve to 1.24 mm Hg.
The voltage divider consisting of R5 and R6 is connected to
the +5 volts powering the system. The output of the pressure
sensor is ratiometric to the voltage applied to it. The pressure
sensor and the voltage divider are connected to a common

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supply; this yields a system that is ratiometric. By nature of this

ratiometric system, variations in the voltage of the power
supplied to the system will have no effect on the system
accuracy.
The liquid crystal display (LCD) is directly driven from I/O
ports A, B, and C on the microcontroller. The operation of a
LCD requires that the data and backplane (BP) pins must be
driven by an alternating signal. This function is provided by a
software routine that toggles the data and backplane at
approximately a 30 Hz rate.
Other than the LCD, there are two more I/O devices that are
connected to the pulse length converter (PLM) of the
microcontroller; a buzzer and a light emitting diode (LED). The
buzzer, which connected to the PLMA, can produce two
different frequencies; 122 Hz and 1.953 kHz tones. For

instance when the microcontroller encounters certain error

due to improper inflation of cuff, a low frequency tone is alarm.
In those instance when the measurement is successful, a high
frequency pulsation tone will be heard. Hence, different
musical tone can be produced to differential each condition. In
addition, the LED is used to indicate the presence of a heart
beat during the measurement.
The microcontroller section of the system requires certain
support hardware to allow it to function. The MC34064P-5
provides an undervoltage sense function which is used to
reset the microprocessor at system power-up. The 4 MHz
crystal provides the external portion of the oscillator function
for clocking the microcontroller and provides a stable base for
time based functions, for instance calculation of pulse rate.

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GND

Vs

C5
0.33u

Vout

Pressure Sensor
MPXV5050GP

+5.0 V

3
2

0.33u

C2

24k

+5.0 V
R4

GND

3 Input Output 1

R3

MC78L05ACP

+5.0 V

1M

5.0 V Regulator

10k

R0
R1
C1

1k
33u

+5.0 V

LM324N

R2
150k

C8
1

Buzzer

100n

C7

C6
330u

100R

100u

C3
VDD

OSC2

22p

X1

22p

PD0/AN0
PD1/AN1
PD2/AN2
PD3/AN3
PD4/AN4
PD5/AN5
PD6/AN6
PD7/AN7

14
13
12
11
9
5
4
3

+5.0 V

MC68HC05B16CFN

PB0
PB1
PB2
PB3
PB4
PB5
PB6
PB7

VRH
PLMA
VRL
PLMB
PA0
PC0
PA1
PC1
PC2/ECLK PA2
PA3
PC3
PA4
PC4
PA5
PC5
PA6
PC6
PA7
PC7

20
21
49
48
47
46
45
44
43
42

RD

TCAP1
TCAP2

/RESET
/IRQ

OSC1

4MHz

2
TCMP1
1 TCMP2
52 TDO
51 SCLK

10

17

R10
10M

39
38
37
36
35
34
33
32

8
7
31
30
29
28
27
26
25
24

50

22
23

18
19
+5.0 V

C4
16

+5.0 V

+5.0 V

R5

11

4.7k + 36R

R8

4.7k

LED

Sensors
Freescale Semiconductor
+5.0 V

1 Reset Input
MC34064
GND

2
3

R9

15k

R6

Figure 5. Blood Pressure Meter Schematic Drawing

AN1571

9.0 V Battery

12
27
26
25
24
15
14
13

16
23
22
21
20
19
18
17

DP2
G2
F2 DP E
A2
D 1
B2
C2
C
D2
E2

DP

LCD5657
DP1
G1
F1
4
A1
B1
C1 DP
D1
3
E1

34
7
6

37
36
35

28
L
40
BP
1
BP
8
DP3
32
G3
31
F3
30
A3
A
29
B3
11
C3
10
D3
9
E3

G4
F4
A4
B4
C4
D4
E4

SOFTWARE DESCRIPTION
Upon system power-up, the user needs to manually pump
the cuff pressure to approximately 160 mm Hg or 30 mm Hg
above the previous SBP. During the pumping of the inflation
bulb, the microcontroller ignores the signal at the output of the

amplifier. When the subroutine TAKE senses a decrease in

CP for a continuous duration of more than 0.75 seconds, the
microcontroller will then assume that the user is no longer
pumping the bulb and starts to analyze the oscillation signal.
Figure 6 shows zoom-in view of a pulse.

VO (volt)

450 ms
1.75

Premature Pulse
-8.5

-8.3

-8.1

-7.9

-7.7

-7.5

-7.3

-7.1

Time (second)

Figure 6. Zoom-In View of a Pulse

First of all, the threshold level of a valid pulse is set to be
1.75 V to eliminate noise or spike. As soon as the amplitude
of a pulse is identified, the microcontroller will ignore the signal
for 450 ms to prevent any false identification due to the
presence of premature pulse "overshoot" due to oscillation.
Hence, this algorithm can only detect pulse rate which is less
than 133 beats per minute. Next, the amplitudes of all the
pulses detected are stored in the RAM for further analysis. If
the microcontroller senses a non-typical oscillation envelope
shape, an error message (Err) is output to the LCD. The user
will have to exhaust all the pressure in the cuff before repumping the CP to the next higher value. The algorithm
ensures that the user exhausts all the air present in the cuff
before allowing any re-pumping. Otherwise, the venous blood
trapped in the distal arm may affect the next measurement.
Therefore, the user has to reduce the pressure in the cuff as
soon as possible in order for the arm to recover. Figure 7 on
the following page is a flowchart for the program that controls
the system.

SELECTION OF MICROCONTROLLER
Although the microcontroller used in this project is
MC68HC05B16, a smaller ROM version microcontroller can
also be used. The list below shows the requirement of

microcontroller for this blood pressure meter design in this

project.
On-chip ROM space: 2 kilobytes
On-chip RAM space: 150 bytes
2-channel A/D converter (min.)
16-bit free running counter timer
LCD driver
On-chip EEPROM space: 32 bytes
Power saving Stop and Wait modes

CONCLUSION
This circuit design concept may be used to evaluate
Freescale pressure sensors used in the digital blood pressure
meter. This basic circuit may be easily modified to provide
suitable output signal level. The software may also be easily
modified to provide better analysis of the SBP and DBP of a
person.

REFERENCES
Lucas, Bill (1991). An Evaluation System for Direct
Interface of the MPX5100 Pressure Sensor with a
Microprocessor, Freescale Application Note AN1305.

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Main Program

Initialization
Clear I/O ports

Display "CAL" and

output a musical tone

Clear all the variables

Take in the amplitude of all the

oscillation signal when the
user has stop pumping

Repump?

Calculate the SBP and DBP

and also the pulse rate

Output a high
frequency
musical tone

Display pulse rate.

Display "SYS" follow by SBP.
Display "dlA" follow by DBP.

Is there any error

in the calculation or the
amplitude envelope
detected?

Display "Err"

Output a low
frequency alarm

Exhaust cuff
before repump

Exhaust cuff
before repump

Figure 7. Main Program Flowchart

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AN1571
Rev. 1
05/2005

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