Pulse Taking by a Piezoelectric Film Sensor via Mode Energy Ratio Analysis Helps Identify Pregnancy Status

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Diagnostics
• Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Integration

Background:

• Non-invasive monitoring of pregnancy is crucial for maternal and fetal health.
• Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has utilized pulse diagnosis for over 2,500 years for health assessment.
• Existing diagnostic methods may lack continuous monitoring capabilities or require invasive procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a non-invasive system for diagnosing and monitoring pregnancy status.
• To explore the application of piezoelectric pulse sensing and Mode Energy Ratio (MER) analysis for physiological monitoring.
• To integrate principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) pulse diagnosis with modern sensing technology.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a Polvinyldene fluoride (PVDF) piezoelectric film sensor to capture human pulse signals, emulating TCM pulse-taking techniques.
• Developed and applied the Mode Energy Ratio (MER) algorithm, based on Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD), for signal analysis.
• Conducted analysis on pulse data from 83 female volunteers with varying pregnancy statuses.

Main Results:

• Successfully identified and differentiated various pregnancy statuses using the developed system.
• Demonstrated the capability of MER analysis to serve as a physical health indicator during pregnancy.
• Achieved accurate identification and warning of pregnancy status and related health indicators.

Conclusions:

• The piezoelectric film pulse sensing system combined with MER analysis offers a viable non-invasive approach for pregnancy monitoring.
• This technology holds potential for early detection and continuous health assessment during pregnancy.
• The study validates the integration of TCM diagnostic principles with advanced signal processing for modern healthcare applications.