Application of sphygmography to detection of dyspepsia and the rhinitis

Diagnosis by radial arterial pulse is very important in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of detection time and position on the parameters of time- and frequency-domain of radial pulse wave and to differentiate between Dyspepsia and Rhinitis by the statistical analysis of two signal types. A sphygmograph was developed to record radial pressure pulse for spectral analysis. The measurements were expressed as the pressure wave and its frequency. In this study, 135 subjects including the controls, Dyspepsias and Rhinitis were enrolled in this study. The signals were taken from three diagnosis positions of both wrists. Seven parameters of pressure wave and two parameters of spectrum analysis were evaluated by ANOVA test and Tukey's test. The results showed that the effects of detection time and position on the parameters taken from pulse wave were inconsistent. No regular rules or relationship could be established. The power spectra of 10-50 Hz and 13-50 Hz from sphygmography revealed a significant effect of health status, position and their interaction. There was a significant difference in the power spectra of 13-50 Hz between the control and Rhinitis, as well as between the control and Dyspepsia at right Guan position. The results of this study strongly suggest that the spectrum of sphygmogram might be more helpful than the pressure wave signals for detection of Dyspepsia and Rhinitis.