Central arterial pulse waveform acquisition with a portable pen-like optical fiber sensor

• Published in: Blood pressure monitoring Vol. 20; no. 1; p. 43
• Main Authors: Leitão, Cátia, Antunes, Paulo, André, Paulo, Pinto, João L, Bastos, José M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01.02.2015
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Blood Pressure - physiology; Carotid Arteries - physiology; Female; Fiber Optic Technology - instrumentation; Humans; Male; Pulse Wave Analysis - instrumentation; Vascular Stiffness - physiology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1473-5725
• DOI: 10.1097/MBP.0000000000000079

Pulse waveform features related to cardiovascular pathologies and arterial stiffness have been extensively studied, and optical fiber sensors have been studied with an aim to simplify the pulse waveform acquisition in the carotid artery. In this paper, a novel optical fiber sensor to record pulse waveform in the carotid artery has been proposed. The pulse waveform optical fiber sensor design, based on fiber Bragg gratings, is presented. The probe was characterized, and its response to controlled waveforms was studied. Finally, tests were performed on human subjects. The developed sensor has a displacement sensitivity of 21.2 pm/μm, with ability to detect the carotid pulse wave in the neck surface, with a resolution of 1.3 mmHg. This study revealed a new technological approach for acquisition of the central pulse waveform.