Development and clinical validation of a miniaturized finger probe for bedside hemodynamic monitoring

Tuukka Panula; Jukka-Pekka Sirkiä; Tero Koivisto; Mikko Pänkäälä; Teemu Niiranen; Ilkka Kantola; Matti Kaisti

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.108295

Development and clinical validation of a miniaturized finger probe for bedside hemodynamic monitoring

iScience. 2023 Oct 24;26(11):108295. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108295. eCollection 2023 Nov 17.

Authors

Tuukka Panula¹, Jukka-Pekka Sirkiä¹, Tero Koivisto¹, Mikko Pänkäälä¹, Teemu Niiranen^{2

3}, Ilkka Kantola³, Matti Kaisti¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Computing, University of Turku, Vesilinnantie 5, 20500 Turku, Finland.
² Department of Internal Medicine, University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 4-8, 20521 Turku, Finland.
³ Division of Turku University Hospital, Kiinamyllynkatu 4-8, 20521 Turku, Finland.

Abstract

Our aim is to develop a blood pressure (BP) measurement technology that could be integrated into a finger-worn pulse oximeter, eliminating the need for a brachial cuff. We present a miniature cuffless tonometric finger probe system that uses the oscillometric method to measure BP. Our approach uses a motorized press that is used to apply pressure to the fingertip to measure BP. We verified the functionality of the device in a clinical trial (n = 43) resulting in systolic and diastolic pressures ((mean ± SD) mmHg) of (-3.5 ± 8.4) mmHg and (-4.0 ± 4.4) mmHg, respectively. Comparison was made with manual auscultation (n = 26) and automated cuff oscillometry (n = 18). In addition to BP, we demonstrated the ability of the device to assess arterial stiffness (n = 18) and detect atrial fibrillation (n = 6). We were able to introduce a sufficiently small device that could be used for convenient ambulatory measurements with minimal discomfort.

Keywords: Health technology; Materials application.