What are the advantages and disadvantages of auscultatory and oscillometric monitors used by the American Society of ABPM?
Auscultatory monitors use a microphone on the bladder cuff to detect the Korotkoff sounds. The advantage of this technique is that arm movement does not interfere with the recording; however, these monitors are sensitive to background noise. Oscillometric monitors sense arterial pressure vibrations and calculate systolic and diastolic values using an algorithmic approach. They are unaffected by background noise, but arm movement can cause errant readings.