SphygmoCor® Platform
SphygmoCor® technology enables noninvasive measurement of the central aortic pressure waveform. The predictive superiority of central arterial pressure waveform analysis (PWA) over brachial blood pressure is primarily due to the closer proximity of the ascending aorta to important target organs such as the heart, brain, and kidneys.[1]
Three aspects of central arterial PWA are especially important:
1. Individual variability in the difference between central and brachial pressures can be significant and clinically important. [2-4] 2. Central pressures cannot be reliably inferred from brachial pressures. [2-4] 3. Medications may have significantly different effects on brachial blood pressure than on the central arterial pressure waveform. [5-7]SphygmoCor® offers noninvasive assessment of the central arterial pressure waveform, including both pressures and indices of arterial stiffness—providing noninvasive measurement of pressure that the heart, brain, and kidneys actually experience.
SphygmoCor® XCEL
The SphygmoCor® XCEL System derives the central aortic pressure waveform using a blood pressure cuff. The procedure can be conducted in the office setting and is easy to perform, painless, and reproducible.
SphygmoCor® XCEL PWA (pulse wave analysis) uses a standard brachial cuff to measure brachial systolic and diastolic pressures and capture a brachial waveform. The brachial waveform is then analyzed by SphygmoCor® to provide a central aortic waveform. Noninvasive central blood pressure (NcBP) measurements such as central aortic systolic blood pressure, central pulse pressure, and an aortic augmentation index (AIx) are also reported.
SphygmoCor® XCEL PWA/PWV (pulse wave analysis/pulse wave velocity) adds aortic PWV measurement to the SphygmoCor® XCEL PWA system. PWV is measured using a carotid tonometer simultaneously with a leg cuff to capture blood pressure waveforms at the carotid and femoral sites. Physical distance measurements allow SphygmoCor® software to perform the velocity calculation.
Noninvasive Central Arterial Pressure Waveform Analysis
Over 1,400 peer-reviewed publications feature SphygmoCor® noninvasive technology. Major independent studies such as the Conduit Artery Function Evaluation (CAFE) Study, the Strong Heart Study, and the Anglo-Cardiff Collaborative Trial have demonstrated that noninvasive central pressure measurement provides important information that cannot be obtained from standard brachial cuff blood pressure measurement.
