Abstract
Examination of wrist radial pulse is a noninvasive diagnostic method, which occupies a very important position in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is based on manual palpation and therefore relies largely on the practitioner′s subjective technical skills and judgment. Consequently, it lacks reliability and consistency, which limits practical applications in clinical medicine. Thus, quantifiable characterization of the wrist pulse diagnosis method is a prerequisite for its further development and widespread use. This paper reports application of a noninvasive CCD sensor-based hybrid measurement system for radial pulse signal analysis. First, artery wall deformations caused by the blood flow are calibrated with a laser triangulation displacement sensor, following by the measurement of the deformations with projection moiré method. Different input pressures and fluids of various viscosities are used in the assembled artificial blood flow system in order to test the performance of laser triangulation technique with detection sensitivity enhancement through microfabricated retroreflective optical element placed on a synthetic vascular graft. Subsequently, the applicability of double-exposure whole-field projection moiré technique for registration of blood flow pulses is considered: a computational model and representative example are provided, followed by in vitro experiment performed on a vascular graft with artificial skin atop, which validates the suitability of the technique for characterization of skin surface deformations caused by the radial pulsation.
Highlights
Pulse diagnosis based on manual palpation has been practiced in Traditional Chinese Medicine for more than 2,000 years
The paper proposed a noninvasive optical measurement system for characterization of radial pulse waveforms, which is based on a complementary application of laser triangulation and projection moiré techniques implemented by means of a CCD displacement sensor
In vitro experiments conducted with a synthetic vascular graft have confirmed that laser triangulation sensor assisted by the micro-opto-electro-mechanical systems (MOEMS) membrane enables high-sensitivity detection of artery displacements caused by variations in blood pressure
Summary
Pulse diagnosis based on manual palpation has been practiced in Traditional Chinese Medicine for more than 2,000 years. In traditional Chinese pulse diagnosis (TCPD) theory, wrist radial pulse signals contain rich information that reflects the state of human health. The practitioner positions the fingertips at different wrist points along the radial artery (Figure 1) to feel patient’s pulse beating and evaluates it according to various criteria (e.g., frequency, depth, quality, strength, rhythm) in order to determine the condition of different internal organs. The problem is that TCPD have not progressed beyond the stage of manual palpations modern sensor devices and measurement techniques need to be adapted for quantified description of the Chinese pulse diagnostic method in order to make it objective and enable its further advancement. The aim of this research work is to investigate the applicability of optical noninvasive measurement techniques for registration of radial blood flow pulses.
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