A wearable blood pressure sensor using oscillometric photoplethysmography and micro accelerometers

Monitoring arterial blood pressure (ABP) with a sensor virtually imperceptible to the wearer, for continuous periods of weeks, months, or years, could prove revolutionary in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic hypertension and heart failure, as well as a monitoring tool for convalescing individuals, and individuals in hazardous duty (such as firefighters or soldiers). To this end, a miniaturizable, non-invasive blood pressure sensor is designed and validated. A solid, coin-sized cuff-less photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor worn over a palpable artery is utilized to measure arterial blood pressure. Measurements are obtained through a modified oscillometric technique which eliminates the need for a high pressure cuff and instead, takes advantage of natural hydrostatic pressure changes caused by raising and lowering the subject's arm. In this work, the principle of hydrostatic oscillometry is first detailed. To better understand the internal mechanisms of pressure propagation within the tissue, a comprehensive non-linear finite element model of the finger base is constructed and validated using a combination of magnetic resonance imaging and experimental tissue stiffness measurements.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Shaltis, Phillip Andrew

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• H. Harry Asada.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/40363

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/40363