Do the Finapres™ and Colin® radial artery tonometer measure the same blood pressure changes following deflation of thigh cuffs?

The objective of this work was to determine if systematic differences exist between blood pressure time series measured by two non-invasive techniques. Cerebral blood flow autoregulation is often measured while a change in blood pressure is induced by deflation of thigh cuffs. To interpret the result a continuous measurement of arterial blood pressure is required. The Finapres(TM) is a non-invasive blood pressure monitor that is often used when assessing autoregulation but there is uncertainty about its reliability. A more recent device, the Colin(R) tonometer, uses radial artery tonometry, which may prove to be a more reliable non-invasive method of obtaining a blood pressure waveform. Twenty healthy volunteers were recruited; blood pressure trends following cuff deflation were measured simultaneously with a Finapres and a Colin tonometer. A significant difference was found between the blood pressure waveforms measured with the two devices. The most striking difference was a slower recovery time measured with the Finapres (Wilcoxon signed rank test P < 0.001). Peripheral vasoaction may be distorting the measurement of blood pressure by the Finapres. This would account for the difference that exists between the techniques. Comparison with a direct arterial line would confirm which non-invasive measurement is more accurate.