Health trends
Published:Wednesday | September 1, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Measuring blood pressure the high-tech way
Dr Winston Dawes has said that the SphygmoCor System will be 'the game changer' in the next five to 10 years to accurately measure blood pressure.
The equipment measures central blood pressure, the elasticity of blood vessel, and seems to be a better predictor of cardiovascular event. The SphygmoCor, using a pressure probe, records the pressure wave at the radial artery and derives the pressure wave of the ascending aorta. Instant results are produced on an attached computer screen.
"Prior to this, the only way to measure central blood pressure was invasive," said Dawes, former senior medical officer of the May Pen Hospital in Clarendon. He is now shifting his focus to fitness and wellness and has been investing in high-tech equipment.
Another 'toy' which Dawes has added to his collection is a whole-body scanner, that spits out on a computer screen in just a few minutes, data on one's health status, from head to toe, including internal organs, spine, even on the levels of neurochemicals (such as serotonin and dopamine) in the brain. To obtain a whole-body assessment, the patient (while fully clothed) places his or her feet and hands on plates, and terminals/electrodes are placed on the temples. Dawes said the whole-body scanner came out of the Russian space-station programme.
"They pass a low-level current between the electrodes. This is not enough to enter the cells, but only through the interstitial fluids. This is the most stable of the body fluids," he said.
The third equipment, a scale known as the segmental analyser, might be of particular interest to weight watchers. It measures not only body fat but the proportion of fat to muscles in the limbs and trunk. Based on these measurements, recommendations can be made to adjust your exercise programme.