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Automated upper-arm cuff blood pressure device

A blood pressure device with a cuff for the upper arm that works out the reading itself from signals in the cuff.

  • Technology
  • In 2 atlases

Overview

Technical summary

The oscillometric method on the upper arm, as the JACC Scientific Expert Panel describes it. Automated follows the panel's meaning, in which a device can take several readings at set intervals from one start. The panel sets these apart from semi-automated devices, which need a manual start for every reading. FDA classifies noninvasive blood pressure measurement systems under product code DXN and 21 CFR 870.1130 as class II. That is a broader device type than this technology, so DXN is a broad mapping. This identity says nothing about the accuracy or validation of any device or the authorization of any product.

How it works

The device reads pulse waves in a cuff on the upper arm, usually while the cuff deflates, and a device-specific algorithm turns them into systolic and diastolic readings (the oscillometric method). An automated device can take several readings at set intervals from one start.

Classification codes

  • FDA product code classification page last updated 2026-10-05, shown on the page as 10/05/2026 DXN system, measurement, blood-pressure, non-invasive

Strengths

  • An automated device can take several readings at set intervals with a single start.

Limitations

  • Each manufacturer uses its own undisclosed algorithm to estimate the readings.
  • Even validated devices must be used in a standardized way, which includes a cuff of the right size that fits correctly and sits at heart level on a bare upper arm.

Required infrastructure

None stated in this record.

Claims and evidence

Context Adults whose blood pressure is measured (NICE NG136 recommendation 1.1.3)

Recipient
Adult
Population
All adults, including those with type 2 diabetes, as the NG136 introduction states for its recommendations on measuring blood pressure and diagnosing hypertension. This atlas does not narrow that statement. Care in pregnancy belongs to the maternal atlas, and no claim here is about it.
Care setting
Not stated on the fetched page. Recommendation 1.1.3 is addressed to healthcare providers.
Geography
Not stated on the fetched page (NICE guidance; jurisdiction not verified)
Life stage
Adult
Follow-up
Not applicable (recommendation context)
Eligibility: 2 inclusion criteria; exclusion criteria not stated
Included
  • Adult
  • With or without type 2 diabetes
Excluded
None stated

  • Recommendation Guidance Certainty not assessed

    NICE guideline NG136, recommendation 1.1.3, tagged with the year 2004, puts a duty on healthcare providers: every blood pressure device they use must be properly validated, kept in working order and recalibrated on a regular schedule as its manufacturer directs. It also refers readers to the website of the British and Irish Hypertension Society, which holds a list of validated blood pressure monitors.

    Applies to Adult
    • All adults, including those with type 2 diabetes, as the NG136 introduction states for its recommendations on measuring blood pressure and diagnosing hypertension. This atlas does not narrow that statement. Care in pregnancy belongs to the maternal atlas, and no claim here is about it.
    • Not stated on the fetched page. Recommendation 1.1.3 is addressed to healthcare providers.
    • Not stated on the fetched page (NICE guidance; jurisdiction not verified)
    • Adult
    Follow-up Not applicable (recommendation context)
    Certainty method
    Not assessed
    Limitations
    The recommendation is about devices for measuring blood pressure in general. The fetched page does not name automated upper-arm cuff devices in it, so this claim is placed on the technology page as the nearest guideline statement and does not say that NICE recommends the technology. The page does not define properly validated. The British and Irish Hypertension Society list itself was not opened. Its guidance page, at the address NICE links to, loads (fetch label ca-bihs-nice-link.html). Its list is a linked spreadsheet. The other address tried first, bihsoc.org, failed the certificate check (fetch label ca-bihs-bp-monitors.html). The recommendation is tagged with the year 2004 and no later edition of this recommendation was checked. The strength of the word must was not verified, and this atlas states NICE's recommendations in its own words because of NICE's reuse terms (see the NICE NG136 source record). The jurisdiction is not stated on the fetched page.
    Last checked
    2026-10-11
    Next evidence check due
    Not scheduled
    Sources and citations (4)

    1. Supports Hypertension in adults: diagnosis and management (NICE guideline NG136), Recommendations chapter

      Guideline · National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) · Edition The Recommendations chapter as shown on 2026-10-09 and fetched again on 2026-10-11 with identical bytes. The page header gives 26 February 2026 as the last update. This atlas cites six recommendations from it, each with the version tag the page shows: 1.1.3 is tagged [2004]; 1.2.3, 1.2.4 and 1.2.8 are tagged [2019]; 1.4.5 is tagged [2004, amended 2019]; 1.4.20 is tagged [2019, amended 2022]. Which edition of each recommendation these tags point to was not checked. · Published 2019-08-28 · nice: NG136

      Locator
      Recommendation 1.1.3, sentence 1
      How it applies
      NICE NG136 as shown on 2026-10-09 and again on 2026-10-11 (same bytes), last updated 2026-02-26.
      Retrieved
      Source effective date
      2026-02-26
      Source state
      Current
      Snapshot hash
      68ce72f3487ffa4715f92ddfa8aaf6e093f5aecd3598cd59a0ab58f74ce86f28
      Reuse basis
      Public text is cite_only (Ben's decision of 2026-10-13 (medical-atlas-core issue 2)): public pages state the facts in the atlas's own words, with a citation and a link, and use no NICE wording. NICE's terms and conditions (source cardio:nice-terms-and-conditions, fetched 2026-10-11) make NICE content available for reuse in the United Kingdom only. Outside the United Kingdom, apart from private use, study or one's own research, reuse needs NICE's prior written agreement, which may carry a licence and a fee, and use for artificial intelligence needs approval and a licensing arrangement. The terms also say NICE does not write its content as a basis for decisions outside the United Kingdom. The page bytes are not committed.

    2. Supports Hypertension in adults: diagnosis and management (NICE guideline NG136), Recommendations chapter

      Guideline · National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) · Edition The Recommendations chapter as shown on 2026-10-09 and fetched again on 2026-10-11 with identical bytes. The page header gives 26 February 2026 as the last update. This atlas cites six recommendations from it, each with the version tag the page shows: 1.1.3 is tagged [2004]; 1.2.3, 1.2.4 and 1.2.8 are tagged [2019]; 1.4.5 is tagged [2004, amended 2019]; 1.4.20 is tagged [2019, amended 2022]. Which edition of each recommendation these tags point to was not checked. · Published 2019-08-28 · nice: NG136

      Locator
      Recommendation 1.1.3, sentence 2
      How it applies
      The list the recommendation points to.
      Retrieved
      Source effective date
      2026-02-26
      Source state
      Current
      Snapshot hash
      68ce72f3487ffa4715f92ddfa8aaf6e093f5aecd3598cd59a0ab58f74ce86f28
      Reuse basis
      Public text is cite_only (Ben's decision of 2026-10-13 (medical-atlas-core issue 2)): public pages state the facts in the atlas's own words, with a citation and a link, and use no NICE wording. NICE's terms and conditions (source cardio:nice-terms-and-conditions, fetched 2026-10-11) make NICE content available for reuse in the United Kingdom only. Outside the United Kingdom, apart from private use, study or one's own research, reuse needs NICE's prior written agreement, which may carry a licence and a fee, and use for artificial intelligence needs approval and a licensing arrangement. The terms also say NICE does not write its content as a basis for decisions outside the United Kingdom. The page bytes are not committed.

    3. Background Hypertension in adults: diagnosis and management (NICE guideline NG136), Recommendations chapter

      Guideline · National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) · Edition The Recommendations chapter as shown on 2026-10-09 and fetched again on 2026-10-11 with identical bytes. The page header gives 26 February 2026 as the last update. This atlas cites six recommendations from it, each with the version tag the page shows: 1.1.3 is tagged [2004]; 1.2.3, 1.2.4 and 1.2.8 are tagged [2019]; 1.4.5 is tagged [2004, amended 2019]; 1.4.20 is tagged [2019, amended 2022]. Which edition of each recommendation these tags point to was not checked. · Published 2019-08-28 · nice: NG136

      Locator
      Recommendation 1.1.3, version tag
      How it applies
      Dates the wording of this recommendation.
      Retrieved
      Source effective date
      2026-02-26
      Source state
      Current
      Snapshot hash
      68ce72f3487ffa4715f92ddfa8aaf6e093f5aecd3598cd59a0ab58f74ce86f28
      Reuse basis
      Public text is cite_only (Ben's decision of 2026-10-13 (medical-atlas-core issue 2)): public pages state the facts in the atlas's own words, with a citation and a link, and use no NICE wording. NICE's terms and conditions (source cardio:nice-terms-and-conditions, fetched 2026-10-11) make NICE content available for reuse in the United Kingdom only. Outside the United Kingdom, apart from private use, study or one's own research, reuse needs NICE's prior written agreement, which may carry a licence and a fee, and use for artificial intelligence needs approval and a licensing arrangement. The terms also say NICE does not write its content as a basis for decisions outside the United Kingdom. The page bytes are not committed.

    4. Background Hypertension in adults: diagnosis and management (NICE guideline NG136), Recommendations chapter

      Guideline · National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) · Edition The Recommendations chapter as shown on 2026-10-09 and fetched again on 2026-10-11 with identical bytes. The page header gives 26 February 2026 as the last update. This atlas cites six recommendations from it, each with the version tag the page shows: 1.1.3 is tagged [2004]; 1.2.3, 1.2.4 and 1.2.8 are tagged [2019]; 1.4.5 is tagged [2004, amended 2019]; 1.4.20 is tagged [2019, amended 2022]. Which edition of each recommendation these tags point to was not checked. · Published 2019-08-28 · nice: NG136

      Locator
      Introduction to Recommendations, scope paragraph
      How it applies
      Says the measurement and diagnosis recommendations cover every adult, people with type 2 diabetes among them.
      Retrieved
      Source effective date
      2026-02-26
      Source state
      Current
      Snapshot hash
      68ce72f3487ffa4715f92ddfa8aaf6e093f5aecd3598cd59a0ab58f74ce86f28
      Reuse basis
      Public text is cite_only (Ben's decision of 2026-10-13 (medical-atlas-core issue 2)): public pages state the facts in the atlas's own words, with a citation and a link, and use no NICE wording. NICE's terms and conditions (source cardio:nice-terms-and-conditions, fetched 2026-10-11) make NICE content available for reuse in the United Kingdom only. Outside the United Kingdom, apart from private use, study or one's own research, reuse needs NICE's prior written agreement, which may carry a licence and a fee, and use for artificial intelligence needs approval and a licensing arrangement. The terms also say NICE does not write its content as a basis for decisions outside the United Kingdom. The page bytes are not committed.

Record details

Record id
core:automated-upper-arm-cuff-device
Content hash
d07e8ef01439af8b56fa85986f3ab403770eb51c2e9effc64a31a93df0513706