Non-Intrusive Device for Real-Time Circulatory System Assessment with Advanced Signal Processing Capabilities

This paper presents a device that uses three cardiography signals to characterize several important parameters of a subject’s circulatory system. Using electrocardiogram, finger photoplethysmogram, and ballistocardiogram, three heart rate estimates are acquired from beat-to-beat time interval extraction. Furthermore, pre-ejection period, pulse transit time (PTT), and pulse arrival time (PAT) are computed, and their long-term evolution is analyzed. The system estimates heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure variability (BPV) from the heart rate and PAT time series, to infer the activity of the cardiac autonomic system. The software component of the device evaluates the frequency content of HRV and BPV, and also their fractal dimension and entropy, thus providing a detailed analysis of the time series’ regularity and complexity evolution, to allow personalized subject evaluation.