Study of the circulation of blood has existed for millennia. The ancient Chinese and Indians are believed to have realized that blood circulated through blood vessels thousands of years ago.
In the early 1600s, a doctor named William Harvey began researching and teaching circulation. In 1628, he published his work which became foundational knowledge on the subject. A century later, Stephen Hales discovered the correlation between heart rate and pulse and took the first blood pressure measurement on a horse.
It wasn’t until 1881 that the first sphygmomanometer (blood pressure monitor) was invented. Samuel Siegfried Karl Ritter von Basch created the device which consisted of a bulb and monitor filled with mercury.
In 1896, Scipione Riva-Rocci improved upon the device and added a cuff to restrict blood flow, similar to blood pressure monitors we know today.
Over time, small improvements were made to the design. In 1914, Francis Fraught and Charles Pilling of Philadelphia, PA patented a new sphygmomanometer design with a novel air pump and measuring dial. While this was Fraught’s only patent, Pilling went on to patent over 30 designs.
