Abstract: A device for application to a body part of a patient to determine the physiological condition of the patient. The device includes a housing, in the form of a hollow socket closed at its distal end and open at its proximal end, for receiving the body part, a pressurizing device for applying a pressure field around the body part when received in the housing, and a sensor for sensing changes in the body part related to changes in pulsatile blood volume therein. The housing includes at least three contiguous but separate sections including a distal end section at its distal tip, a proximal end section at its opposite end, and at least one middle section between the end sections. The pressurizing device applies a pressure field to the portions of the body part received within at least the distal end section and the middle section of the housing. The distal end section is configured to apply pressure to all of the distal portion of the body part including its distal most tip.