PROJECT TITLE:

NON INVASIVE CUFFLESS BLOOD PRESSURE MACHINE USING

PIEZORESISTIVE SENSOR

FINAL REPORT

NAMES REGISTRATION NUMBER UE NUMBER

FRAIDES KOMUGISHA ZEFLIN 20123150010 UE/DBEE/22/15329
JOSHUA SIMON MBUGHI 20123150054 UE/DBEE/22/15251

“A final project report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement of diploma in biomedical
equipment engineering of Mbeya university of science and technology (MUST.)”

July, 2023
 CERTIFICATION
The undersigned certify that he has read and hereby recommend for examination/ acceptance of
project report entitled NON INVASIVE CUFFLESS BLOOD PRESSURE MACHINE
USING PIEZORESISTIVE SENSOR. In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
Diploma in Biomedical Equipment Engineering of Mbeya University of Science and
Technology.

______________________________________

Mr. HERIBERT R. KAIJAGE

(Supervisor)

Date: ___________________________

i
 DECLARATION AND COPYRIGHT
We, Fraides Komugisha Zeflin and Joshua Mbughi declare that this project report is our own
original work and that it has not been presented and will not be presented to any other University
for a similar or any other diploma award.

______________________________ Date____________________
Fraides Komugisha Zeflin
(Student)
______________________________ Date____________________
Joshua Mbughi
(Student)

This dissertation is a copyright material protected under the Berne Convention, the Copyright
Act 1999 and other international and national enactments, in that behalf, on intellectual property.
It may not be reproduced by any means, in full or in part, except for short extracts in fair dealing,
for research or private study, critical scholarly review or discourse with an acknowledgement,
without the written permission of the Directorate of Undergraduate Studies, on behalf of both the
authors and Mbeya University of Science and Technology.

ii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We have taken efforts in this project. However, it would not have been possible without the kind
support and help of many individuals and organizations. We would like to extend our sincere
thanks to all of them. We thank our God for providing us with everything that required in
completing this project.
We are highly indebted to our project supervisor , Mr. HERIBERT R. KAIJAGE for his guidance
and constant supervision as well as for providing necessary information regarding the project
also for his support in completing the project.

We would like to express our gratitude towards my parents for their kind cooperation and
encouragement which helped us in the completion of this project.

We would like to express our special gratitude and thanks to industry persons for giving us such
attention and time.
Our thanks and appreciations also go to our classmates in developing the project and to the
people who have willingly helped me out with their abilities

iii
 ABSTRACT
Continuous blood pressure (BP) monitoring provides additional information about how changes
in BP may correlate with daily activities and sleep patterns. Recommendations from the
American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology strongly suggest confirming a
diagnosis of hypertension with continuous BP monitoring (J.Imed.2021). This proposed system
the Non-invasive cuff less blood pressure machine system automatically measures blood pressure
and display results on the LCD within a short period of time compared to cuff based blood
pressure machine also this project is aiming to automatically reduce cost of changing cuffs when
bursts due to patient’s hand size compared to the size of cuff. Main objectives of this project is to
design a non-invasive cuff less blood pressure machine by using Piezo-resistive sensor. Several
software applications (including Arduino IDE and proteus version 2.0.0) and hardware
component (include component like programmable Microcontroller unit and simple electronic
devices like sensors, LCD Display) will be used to implement project prototype and the budget
of the proposal is about 185,000/= which is contributed by the university’s management. The
proposed project is expected to be carried from April, 2023 to July, 2023.

iv
 TABLE OF CONTENT

CERTIFICATION............................................................................................................................i

DECLARATION AND COPYRIGHT...........................................................................................ii

ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................iv

TABLE OF CONTENT...................................................................................................................v

LIST OF TABLES..........................................................................................................................vi

LIST OF FIGURE........................................................................................................................viii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS........................................................................................................ix

DEFINITION OF TERMS..............................................................................................................x

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................1

1.1. Introduction...........................................................................................................................1

1.2. Problem Statement....................................................................................................................1

1.3. Objectives.................................................................................................................................2

1.3.1. Main objective.......................................................................................................................2

1.3.2. Specific objectives.................................................................................................................2

1.4. Project Significances................................................................................................................2

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW.........................................................................................3

2.1 Introduction................................................................................................................................3

2.2 The Existing System..................................................................................................................3

2.2.1 Drawbacks of Cuff Based Blood pressure machine...............................................................3

2.3. The Proposed System...............................................................................................................4

2.3.1. Advantages of the System.....................................................................................................4

CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY...................................................................................................5

3.1. System Requirement Specifications.........................................................................................5

3.1.2. Hardware Requirements........................................................................................................6

v
3.2. Functions of Hardware Parts....................................................................................................7

3.3. Design consideration..............................................................................................................11

3.4. Functionality...........................................................................................................................11

3.5. Expected Results....................................................................................................................11

CHAPTER 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION............................................................................12

4.1. Results.....................................................................................................................................12

4.2. Discussion...............................................................................................................................12

CHAPTER 5..................................................................................................................................13

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION............................................................................13

REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

APPENDICES...............................................................................................................................15

vi
 LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Budget proposal...............................................................................................................15
Table 2: Project Schedule..............................................................................................................16

vii
 LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1: Diastolic and Systolic Blood Pressure Readings..........................................................1
Figure 2.1: Block Diagram of Cuff Based BP Machine..................................................................4
Figure 2.2: Circuit design and simulation and IDE layout..............................................................5
Figure 2.3: Connection of hardware components............................................................................6
Figure 2.4:Arduino AT mega328p MCU........................................................................................7
Figure 2.5:Flexible piezoresistive sensor........................................................................................9
Figure 2.6:12V Lithium battery.......................................................................................................9
Figure 2.7: Printed circuit board....................................................................................................10
Figure 2.8: Organic light emitting diode......................................................................................10
Figure 2.8: Components of Noninvasive Cuff less Blood Pressure Machine...............................11

viii
 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
BP Blood pressure
PC Person computer
USB Universal series bus
GSM Global system for mobile communication
SMD Surface mount device
MmHg Millimeter of mercury
LCD Liquid crystal display

ix
 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Sensor Device that detects and responds to some type of input from the
physical environment.

Disease Particular abnormal condition that negatively affects

the structure or function of all or part of an organism.

Cuff Inflatable bag wrapped around arm when measuring blood

pressure.

Microcontroller Is a compact integrated circuit designed to govern a specific

operation in an embedded system.

Simulation Is a process in which electronic circuit is designed, predict and

verify the performance and behavior of the circuit.

x
 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Introduction
Cardiovascular diseases are on the rise. According to the American Heart Association, by 2030
there will be 23.6 million deaths due to cardiovascular (A.H.Association,et Al .2017)

The foremost concern regarding heart health is blood pressure (BP). BP readings and fluctuations
are considered to be a precursor to heart-related ailments. According to a report by the World
Health Organization, people should monitor their BP at least once per day to detect spikes in BP
and also reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (Di cesare M,et Al 2015) . BP is considered to
be highly correlated with cardiovascular diseases and its measurement is an efficient method for
detection of cardiovascular anomalies classical noninvasive BP measurement techniques provide
spontaneous values of systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

Figure 1.1: Diastolic and Systolic Blood Pressure Readings

1
1.2. Problem Statement
Since cardiovascular disease is rising, various method of measurement were developed including
non-invasive cuff based monitoring where the existing system is a cuff based blood pressure
machine which works on principle of the oscillometric technique, which can be cumbersome and
impractical (CE,Hajj ,P.A Kyriaucou 2021.) also it make a patient to feel uncomfortable due the
tightness of cuff, however it is cost-fully due to the tendency of cuff burst (Man.pk.2021).

Another existing system is non-invasive cuff less blood pressure machine which use
plethysmography (PPG) (j.imed.2021). This system also cause discomfort to the patient because
it should be worn constantly on a fingertip (Zang .q.2017)

The proposed methodology will eliminate any discomfort to patients caused by inflation of the
cuff (in the case of cuff-based BP monitoring) or the need to constantly wear a fingertip
photoplethysmography device (in the case of cuff less BP monitoring) (Elengdi,M 2012).

1.3. Objectives

1.3.1. Main objective

To design a non-invasive cuff less blood pressure machine that will be able to measure blood
pressure by using flexible piezo resistive sensor.

1.3.2. Specific objectives

a) To study the existing system.

b) To establish the design required for the proposed system.
c) To program a non-invasive cuff less blood pressure machine and the control unit for the
system to receive a given command.
d) To simulate proposed circuit diagram.
e) To build and testing prototype

1.4. Project Significances

a) It will minimize maintenance cost compared to cuff based machine.

b) It will make a patient to feel more comfortable since the system is non-invasive.
c) This system will save time ever since the result will be displayed within a short time.

2
 d) The system is portable thus will also be used for outpatient.

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

The literature review was through studying various articles, different books, industrial practical
training and other sources which are expressing about non-invasive cuff less blood pressure
machine and through this source we were able to grasp the idea about the existing Non-invasive
blood pressure machine.

2.2 The Existing System

This system works under the principle of oscillometric technique through which a cuff is inflated
over the upper arm or wrist (j.imed.2021). When the cuff is fully inflated to a certain pressure, no
blood flow occurs through the artery. As the cuff is deflated below the systolic pressure, the
reducing pressure exerted on the artery allows blood to flow through it and sets up a detectable
vibration in the arterial wall (Nie et al., 2022). When the cuff pressure falls below the patient's
diastolic pressure, blood flows smoothly through the artery in the usual pulses, without any
vibration being set up in the wall. (Man.pk.2021). Vibrations occur at any point where the cuff
pressure is sufficiently high that the blood has to push the arterial wall open in order to flow
through the artery (Ibrahim ,B 2022).

The vibrations are transferred from the arterial wall, through the air inside the cuff, into a
transducer in the monitor that converts the measurements into electrical signals (Toftekær et al.,
2018).

2.2.1 Drawbacks of Cuff Based Blood pressure machine

i. Cuff inflation cause a patient to feel uncomfortable.
ii. Higher cost due to the replacement when one bursts.
iii. The system is Manual operated.
iv. Improper placement of cuff can lead to inaccurate readings.
v. It is limited to some patient’s hand size

3
 Figure 2.1: Block Diagram of Cuff Based BP Machine

2.3. The Proposed System

In this system the Piezo-resistive sensor is use in which a diaphragm formed on a silicon
substrate, which bends with applied pressure (yuhuan LV,2023) deformation occurs in the crystal
lattice of the diaphragm because of that bending. This deformation causes a change in the band
structure of the piezo-resistors that are placed on the diaphragm, leading to a change in the
resistivity of the material (S.S.yao.2017).The change can be an increase or a decrease according
to the orientation of the resistors (Berardengo et al., 2021).

2.3.1. Advantages of the System

 Low-cost sensor fabrication opportunity.

 It is not limited to the patient’s hand size.
 Different pressure levels can be achieved according to the application.
 It is automatically operated.
 Read-out circuitry can be either on-chip or discretely

4
 CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY

3.1. System Requirement Specifications

System hardware and software requirements for the implementations of the proposed project are
mentioned below.
3.1.1. Software Requirements.
In the software requirement, microcontroller AT mega 328 (chip) be used for Configuring
process and uploading the code from Windows Operating System to the Arduino Uno R3 board
via USB cable. The Proteus software version 8.4 will be used to simulate the circuit of our
project design before implementation to the prototype.

Figure 2.2: circuit design and simulation and IDE layout

5
3.1.2. Hardware Requirements
The system will mainly consist of variable circuit building materials to be used for
implementation of the experimental works.

Figure 2.3: connection of hardware components

These Hardware components are as listed below:

Flexible piezo resistive sensor (pressure sensor chip model SFH 2201)

i. Display for wearable devices (Lily Go display model T54.7)

ii. Power source (lithium battery 3.7 V)
iii. Enclosure (watch form)
iv. Printed circuit in surface mount technology ( SMD form)
v. Arduino Nano
vi.

6
3.2. Functions of Hardware Parts
MICROCONTROLLER

Figure 2.4:Arduino AT mega328p MCU

ARDUINO
The arduinoNano is a microcontroller based device with 16 digital pins that can be used for
various purposes. It can be used for almost every task, from minor to massive industrial scale
projects. It can also be used for prototyping and developing new applications.
The technical specifications of the Arduino Nano board are:
 The operating voltage of the Nano board varies from 5V to 12V.
 The total pins in Nano are 22 input /Output pins.
 There are 14 digital pins and 8 analogy pins.
 There are 6 PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) pins among the 14 digital pins.

7
Why Arduino and not other microcontroller?
Arduino has been used in thousands of different project and applications. Arduino software is
easy to use for beginners, yet flexible enough for other advanced users. It runs on Mac,
Windows, and Linux Teachers and students use it to build low-cost scientific instruments to
prove chemistry and physics principles, or to get started with programming and robotics.
Arduino also simplifies the process of working with microcontroller, but it offers some
advantage to teachers, students and hobbyist over electronic systems.

I. Inexpensive -Arduino board is relatively inexpensive compared to another

microcontroller platform.
II. Cross-platform- The Arduino software (IDE) runs on windows, Macintosh OSX and
Linux operating system.
III. Simple, clear programming environment-The Arduino software is easy to use for
beginners, yet flexible enough for advanced users to take advantage as well.
IV. Open source and extensible- The Arduino is published as open source tools, available
for extension by experienced programmers. The language can be expended through C+
+ libraries
V. Open source and extensible hardware- The plans of Arduino boards are published
under creative common license, so experienced circuit designers can make their own
versions of module.

Enclosure (Watch Form)

Hold all contents in place also the belt enable to provide tightness for pressure increase.

Piezo-resistive Sensor

8
 Figure 2.5:Flexible piezoresistive sensor

Piezo sensors are used within many sensors and devices. They are used to convert a physical
parameter; for example acceleration or pressure, into an electrical signal. Piezo sensors are used
to measure the change in pressure, acceleration or strain by converting them into electrical
charge.

Advantages of flexible piezoresistive sensor

i. Piezoresistive sensors are less expensive compared to capacitive sensors.

ii. Offers high resolution measurement.
iii. Highly resistant to shock, vibration, and dynamic pressure changes.
iv. They have high electrical and mechanical stability.

Lithium Battery

Figure 2.6:12V Lithium battery

A lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery is an advanced battery technology that uses lithium ions as a key
component of its electrochemistry. During a discharge cycle, lithium atoms in the anode are
ionized and separated from their electrons. It is used as a power source for electronic devices.
SMD Printed Circuit

9
 Figure 2.7: printed circuit board

printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic
components using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces etched from copper sheets
laminated onto a non-conductive substrate.
OLED DISPAY

Figure 2.8: organic light emitting diode

The acronym 'OLED' stands for Organic Light-Emitting Diode - a technology that uses LEDs
in which the light is produced by organic molecules. These organic LEDs are used to create what
are considered to be the world's best display panels.

3.3. Design consideration

10
The figure below showing some components of noninvasive cuff less blood pressure machine.

Figure 2.8: Components of Noninvasive Cuff less Blood Pressure Machine

3.4. Functionality
Flexible piezo resistive sensor work by converting physical signal into analog electrical signal.
Where the physical signal are generated by the pressure of the human body. (Miao ,F 2019) In
this system the sensor is integrated with a microcontroller which demand a sensor to perform the
task measuring blood pressure then the result will be displayed on the LCD display specifically
lily Go display for wearable devices .

3.5. Expected Results

After system completion, we expect to measure the blood pressure of a patient by using
cuffless blood pressure machine and it’s results will be accurate.

11
 CHAPTER 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1. Results

The implementation of a non invasive cuffless blood pressure machine using piezoresistive
sensor successfully achieved its objectives and provided significant benefits in the healthcare
sector. The machine demonstrated efficient and accurate.

Measurement of blood pressure, ensuring patient safety and convenience. The project
successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of the machine in reducing waiting times and
minimizing errors commonly associated with manual blood pressure measurement methods. The
positive outcomes of the project indicate the potential for widespread of machines in various
healthcare settings, enhancing patient care and operational efficiency.

4.2. Discussion
Continuous BP measurement in a non- invasive way can greatly improve patient monitoring,
especially in unconscious or in unstable cardiovascular disease patients. The Existing technology
shows the reliability of the cuff based as a non-invasive machine for blood pressure
measurement. In the implemented system , BP values from the flexible Piezoresistive sensor
were proved to be reliable and reproducible in comparison with the oscillometric method.

There was a strong linear relationship between the cuff-based NIBP and the flexible
piezoresistive sensor value in both short-term and long-term measurement in a sitting position.
This high correlation with the cuff-based NIBP was evident not only as the baseline-corrected
raw data but also as the calibrated BP. All the bias and standard deviation (SD) results for
systolic, diastolic and mean arterial BP have satisfied the Association for the Advancement of
Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) criteria, which state that the bias and SD should be below 5
mmHg and 8 mmHg,

respectively Also, the tightness of the arm band and the wris circumference did not affect the
calibrated BP.

12
 CHAPTER 5.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

In conclusion, the development of a non invasive cuffless blood pressure machine offers
promising solutions enhance healthcare accessibility and convenience. Despite the challenges
faced during the project, successful implementation demonstrated the potential benefits of this
automate healthcare system. Continuous improvement and integration with emerging
technologies will further optimize the machine's functionality, ensuring its effectiveness in
delivering efficient and reliable healthcare services.

Based on the extensive research and analysis conducted for the development of a non invasive
cuffless blood pressure machine, it is strongly recommended to proceed with the implementation
of this project. The machine addresses several key needs in the healthcare industry

13
 REFERENCES
Man PK, Cheung KL, Sangsiri N, Shek WJ, Wong KL, Chin JW, Chan TT, So RH. Blood
Pressure Measurement: From Cuff-Based to Contactless Monitoring. Healthcare (Basel).
2022 Oct 21;10(10):2113. doi: 10.3390/healthcare10102113. PMID: 36292560; PMCID:

Yuhuan Lv, Xiaohui Fang, Biao Zhao, Yong Liu, Kai Pan. Tri-Level Wrinkle-Vein-Sheet
Structured. Reduced Graphene Oxide/Nanofiber Films for Flexible Piezoresistive
Sensors. ACS Applied Nano Materials2023, 6 (1) , 695-703.

S. S. Yao, P. Swetha and Y. Zhu, Nanomaterial-Enabled Wearable Sensors for Healthcare, Adv.
Healthcare Mater., 2017,
Zhang Q, Zhou D, Zeng X. Highly wearable cuff-less blood pressure and heart rate monitoring
with single-arm electrocardiogram and photoplethysmogram signals. Biomed Eng Online
2017; 16:23
Ibrahim, B., Jafari, R. Cuffless blood pressure monitoring from a wristband with calibration-free
algorithms for sensing location based on bio-impedance sensor array and
autoencoder. Sci Rep 12, 319 (2022).
Miao, F., Liu, Z., Liu, J., Wen, B. & Li, Y. Multi-sensor fusion approach for cuff-less blood
pressure measurement. IEEE J. Biomed. Health Inform. 24, 79–91 (2019).
Elengdi, M. On the analysis of fingertip photo plethysmogram signal. Curr. Cardiol. Rev. 2012,
14–25 (2012).
Qiu, C.; Wu, T.; Redouté, J.; Yuce, M. A Wireless Wearable Sensor Patch for the Real-Time
Estimation of Continuous Beat-to-Beat Blood Pressure. 2015
Berardengo, M., Manzoni, S., Vanali, M., & Bonsignori, R. (2021). Enhancement of the
broadband vibration attenuation of a resistive piezoelectric shunt. Journal of Intelligent
Material Systems and Structures, 32(18–19). https://doi.org/10.1177/1045389X20988090
Nie, L., Liao, Y., Zhou, R., Liang, X., Wan, X., Li, X., & Su, M. (2022). Anti-hepatic carcinoma
mechanisms of calycosin through targeting of ferroptosis. Intelligent Medicine.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.imed.2022.06.001
Toftekær, J. F., Benjeddou, A., Høgsberg, J., & Krenk, S. (2018). Optimal piezoelectric resistive–
inductive shunt damping of plates with residual mode correction. Journal of Intelligent
Material Systems and Structures, 29(16). https://doi.org/10.1177/1045389X18798953

14
 APPENDICES
Budget proposal

S/N NAME OF SPECIFICATIONS NUMBER COST PER TOTAL

DEVICE OF DEVICE
DEVICES
1. Arduino AT mega 328P 1 50,000/= 50,000/=
Uno (chip)
2. Flexible Model SFH 2201 1 30,000/= 30,000/=
piezo-
resistive
sensor
3. Enclosure Watch form 1 15,000/= 15,000/=
4. Display for Lily Go display 1 25,000/= 25,000/=
wearable model T54.7
devices
5. Printed SMD form 1 50,000/= 50,000/=
circuit
6. Lithium 12V 1 15,000 15,000/=
battery
GRAND 185,000/=
TOTAL

Project Schedule

15
 ACTIVITIES TIME

January February March April May June July

Title presentation

Proposal
development

Design circuit and

simulation

Prototype
construction

Report Writing

Final
presentation and
report submission

ARDUINO CODES
#include <LiquidCrystal.h>
#include "MAX30100_PulseOximeter.h"

16
#define REPORTING_PERIOD_MS 1000
const int banero;
const int rs = 12, en = 11, d4 = 5, d5 = 4, d6 = 3, d7 = 2;
LiquidCrystal lcd(rs, en, d4, d5, d6, d7);

PulseOximeter pox;
uint32_t tsLastReport = 0;
void onBeatDetected()
{
Serial.println("Beat!");
}
void setup()
{
Serial.begin(9600);
Serial.print("Initializing pulse oximeter..");
lcd.begin(16,2);
lcd.print("NON-INVASIVE CUFFLESS BP MACHINE");
delay(3000);
lcd.clear();
if (!pox.begin()) {
Serial.println("FAILED");
for(;;);
} else {
Serial.println("SUCCESS");
}
pox.setIRLedCurrent(MAX30100_LED_CURR_7_6MA);
pox.setOnBeatDetectedCallback(onBeatDetected);
}

17
void loop()
{
pox.update();
if (millis() - tsLastReport > REPORTING_PERIOD_MS) {
Serial.println("Heart rate:");
Serial.print(pox.getHeartRate());
Serial.println("bpm / SpO2:");
Serial.print(pox.getSpO2());
Serial.println("%");
lcd.clear();
lcd.setCursor(0,0);
lcd.print("Systolic: ");
lcd.print(pox.getHeartRate());

lcd.setCursor(0,1);
lcd.print("Diastolic: ");
lcd.print(pox.getSpO2());
}
}

18