The sphygmomanometer was invented by Samuel Siegfried Karl Ritter von Basch in the year 1881.
Scipione Riva-Rocci introduced a more easily used version in 1896. In 1901, pioneering neurosurgeon Dr. Harvey Cushing brought an example of Riva-Rocci's device to the US, modernized it and popularized it within the medical community. Further improvement came in 1905 when Russian physician Nikolai Korotkov included diastolic blood pressure measurement following his discovery of "Korotkoff sounds." ,while working for The Life Extension Institute which performed insurance and employment physicals.
In 1981 the first fully automated oscillometric blood pressure cuff was invented by Donald Nunn.
