Non-contact cardiac monitoring from carotid artery using optical vibrocardiography.

The aim of the present work is to establish a protocol for monitoring the cardiac activity measuring the skin surface vibrations of the main neck vessels, caused by vascular wall motion in carotid artery. The method is based on the optical recording of the movements of the neck by means of laser Doppler interferometry. The ECG signal and the velocity of vibration of the skin in correspondence of the carotid artery (named optical vibrocardiography: VCG) have been simultaneously recorded on five healthy subjects. Standard heart rate variability tests have been carried out. The capability of VCG signals to be used as a surrogate of the ECG in assessing both cardiac rate and heart rate variability (HRV) has been tested using time and spectral descriptors, and specific statistical analysis. Mean differences have been found lower than 3.13%. Optical vibrocardiography might be a simple approach to the clinical practice of cardiovascular screening, in particular in harsh environment, such as MR clinical practice, where ECG recordings are corrupted by artefacts and ECG cables might represent an hazard for the patients.