PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for monitoring respiration and an apparatus for monitoring respiration with little trouble for a user compared to a body motion sensor necessary to wear a respiration sensor to a nose and mouth or to take off clothes or wear a belt, and capable of monitoring the respiration before measuring blood pressure, and to provide a sphygmomanometer with a respiration monitoring function.SOLUTION: A sensor probe 15 having a strain sensor element with a thin film laminated structure holding a top and bottom of a thin film piezoelectric material layer by an electrode layer on a cuff arranged in a cuff part 12 of the sphygmomanometer is provided. The vertical motion of the cuff part accompanied with the respiration of a person to be measured is detected as an electrical signal by the sensor probe 15.COPYRIGHT: (C)2013,JPO&INPIT【課題】鼻や口への呼気センサの装着あるいは脱衣やベルトの着用が必要な体動センサの装着と比較してユーザにとっての煩わしさが少なく、かつ血圧測定前の呼吸モニタリングが可能な、呼吸モニタリング方法および呼吸モニタリング装置、並びに呼吸モニタリング機能付血圧計を提供する。【解決手段】血圧計の腕帯部12に設置されたカフ上に、薄膜圧電体層の上下を電極層で挟持した薄膜積層構造の歪センサ素子を備えたセンサプローブ15が設けられる。センサプローブ15により、測定者の呼吸に伴う上腕部の上下動を電気信号として検出する。【選択図】図1
