Wang Hongju, Wang Lu, Sun Nannan, Yao Yang, Hao Liling, Xu Lisheng, Greenwald Stephen E
College of Medicine and Biomedical Information Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang, China.
School of Computer Science and Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang, China.
Front Physiol. 2020 Jan 14;10:1563. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2019.01563. eCollection 2019.
The accurate measurement of the arterial pulse wave is beneficial to clinical health assessment and is important for the effective diagnosis of many types of cardiovascular disease. A variety of sensors have been developed for the non-invasive detection of these waves, but the type of sensor has an impact on the measurement results. Therefore, it is necessary to compare and analyze the signals obtained under a range of conditions using various pulse sensors to aid in making an informed choice of the appropriate type. From the available types we have selected four: a piezoresistive strain gauge sensor (PESG) and a piezoelectric Millar tonometer (the former with the ability to measure contact force), a circular film acceleration sensor, and an optical reflection sensor. Pulse wave signals were recorded from the left radial, carotid, femoral, and digital arteries of 60 subjects using these four sensors. Their performance was evaluated by analyzing their susceptibilities to external factors (contact force, measuring site, and ambient light intensity) and by comparing their stability and reproducibility. Under medium contact force, the peak-to-peak amplitude of the signals was higher than that at high and low force levels and the variability of signal waveform was small. The optical sensor was susceptible to ambient light. Analysis of the intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) of the pulse wave parameters showed that the tonometer and accelerometer had good stability (ICC > 0.80), and the PESG and optical sensor had moderate stability (0.46 < ICC < 0.86). Intra-observer analysis showed that the tonometer and accelerometer had good reproducibility (ICC > 0.75) and the PESG and optical sensor had moderate reproducibility (0.42 < ICC < 0.91). Inter-observer analysis demonstrated that the accelerometer had good reproducibility (ICC > 0.85) and the three other sensors had moderate reproducibility (0.52 < ICC < 0.96). We conclude that the type of sensor and measurement site affect pulse wave characteristics and the careful selection of appropriate sensor and measurement site are required according to the research and clinical need. Moreover, the influence of external factors such as contact pressure and ambient light should be fully taken into account.
准确测量动脉脉搏波有利于临床健康评估，对多种心血管疾病的有效诊断也很重要。已经开发了多种用于这些波无创检测的传感器，但传感器类型会对测量结果产生影响。因此，有必要使用各种脉搏传感器在一系列条件下对获得的信号进行比较和分析，以帮助做出关于合适类型的明智选择。从现有的类型中，我们选择了四种：压阻应变片传感器（PESG）和压电米勒血压计（前者能够测量接触力）、圆形薄膜加速度传感器和光学反射传感器。使用这四种传感器从60名受试者的左桡动脉、颈动脉、股动脉和指动脉记录脉搏波信号。通过分析它们对外部因素（接触力、测量部位和环境光强度）的敏感性以及比较它们的稳定性和可重复性来评估它们的性能。在中等接触力下，信号的峰峰值幅度高于高、低力水平时的幅度，且信号波形的变异性较小。光学传感器易受环境光影响。对脉搏波参数的组内相关系数（ICC）分析表明，血压计和加速度计具有良好的稳定性（ICC>0.80），PESG和光学传感器具有中等稳定性（0.46<ICC<0.86）。观察者内分析表明，血压计和加速度计具有良好的可重复性（ICC>0.75），PESG和光学传感器具有中等可重复性（0.42<ICC<0.91）。观察者间分析表明，加速度计具有良好的可重复性（ICC>0.85），其他三种传感器具有中等可重复性（0.52<ICC<0.96）。我们得出结论，传感器类型和测量部位会影响脉搏波特征，根据研究和临床需求需要仔细选择合适的传感器和测量部位。此外，应充分考虑接触压力和环境光等外部因素的影响。
