Research for wearable multiple vital sign sensor using fiber Bragg Grating — Verification of several pulsate points in human body surface

Abstract

The concern for human welfare has produced great demands for a rapid and continuous sensing system for vital signs in humans. In particular, wearable systems are required because they can monitor health status over a prolonged period. We have used a Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensor to develop a wearable multiple vital sign sensor. The FBG sensor is installed at the pulsate points in a human body surface. The FBG sensor can measure human pulse waves. In this paper, the measurement result at several pulsate points on a human body surface is presented. The measurement pulsate points are the temple, finger, ankle, and dorsum pedis. The pulse wave signal can be measured by an FBG sensor. The pulse rate and blood pressure (BP) are calculated using these measured signals. The pulse rate can be measured using the interval of measured pulse waves. The calculated BP value is different from the reference BP value due to the difference between the waveform of the measured signal at each pulsate points and the measurement method of the reference BP value. If attention is given to these factors, the vital signs measured at each pulsate points can be obtained.