Subcutaneous blood pressure monitoring with an implantable optical sensor

Biomed Microdevices. 2013 Oct;15(5):811-20. doi: 10.1007/s10544-013-9768-6.

Abstract

We introduce a minimally invasive, implantable system that uses pulse transit time to determine blood pressure. In contrast to previous approaches, the pulse wave is detected by a photoplethysmographic (PPG) signal, acquired with high quality directly on subcutaneous muscle tissue. Electrocardiograms (ECG) were measured with flexible, implantable electrodes on the same tissue. PPG detection is realized by a flat 20 mm x 6 mm optoelectronic pulse oximeter working in reflection mode. The optical sensor as well as the ECG electrodes can be implanted using minimally invasive techniques, with only a small incision into the skin, making long-term monitoring of blood pressure in day-to-day life for high-risk patients possible. The in vivo measurements presented here show that the deviation to intra-arterial reference measurements of the systolic blood pressure in a physiologically relevant range is only 5.5 mmHg, demonstrated for more than 12 000 pulses. This makes the presented sensor a grade B blood pressure monitor.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Blood Pressure / physiology
  • Blood Pressure Determination / instrumentation*
  • Blood Pressure Determination / methods
  • Calibration
  • Electrocardiography
  • Equipment Design
  • Female
  • Heart Rate
  • Models, Animal
  • Optics and Photonics / instrumentation*
  • Oximetry
  • Prostheses and Implants*
  • Pulse Wave Analysis
  • Sheep
  • Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted