The Art of Palpation
In 1909, Victor Pachon made his first oscillometer, using the workshop of Boulitte, a manufacturer of medical devices in Paris. The Pachon oscillometer heralded a new era for medical diagnostics, using a careful analysis of pulse waves, based on the ancient art of palpation.
The Pachon oscillometer eventually fell in disuse in the 1960ies, as the regular blood pressure monitor found favor with doctors who found that the measurement of systolic and diastolic pressures were a good enough replacement for palpation. So the art of palpation, based on thousands of years of medical tradition, simply disappeared overnight.
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Palpation made possible a greater understanding of the human cardiovascular system. But for practical reasons, it became too complicated to use as part of every day medical practice.
The SCVL (Screening CardioVascular Lab) uses electronic palpation technology that combines all the advantages of manual palpation with the speed and accuracy of modern day electronics. It is the only device of its kind that is validated against the strict protocol of the BHS. It revives the art of palpation using direct oscillometric data obtained from the human body and translating it into a comprehensible format, measuring ABI (ankle brachial index) and calculating a host of other cardiovascular parameters such as MAP, PP, cardiac output and stroke volume. The SCVL also provides a full cardiovascular risk assessment according to the Framingham Risk Scores. The SCVL provides users with an intuitive way of measuring ABI and other cardiovascular parameters and brings detailed vascular assessment within the reach of general practitioners.
The HealthWorks SCVL was developed according to the principles of Human Centered Design, to be completely intuitive to use. It is the result of the combined research of scientists and doctors working for the HealthWorks Global group of companies.
Milestones are important not just as markers of the past, but as signposts to the future. In 2004, the HealthWorks people started imagining the SCVL. We contacted some of the world’s best healthcare experts and put all their knowledge in a common pool. After many milestones, the SCVL was born.
Heading into our second year, we’re still raising the bar.
At HealthWorks, we stay focused on providing solutions for better health and responsibility to our customers. We believe we are well-positioned to do this. We develop tools that allow them to understand their bodies.
We’re looking ahead with the same vision that brought us to this pinnacle today.
• ABI MEASUREMENT
• BLOOD PRESSURE
• MAP AND PULSE PRESSURE
• MULTIPLE AND CONTINUOUS READINGS
• STROKE VOLUME
• CARDIAC OUTPUT
• FRAMINGHAM RISK SCORES
• DATA ANALYSIS
• REGULAR SOFTWARE UPDATES
• INTEGRATED SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE PLATFORM
• CLINICALLY VALIDATED
