Feasibility of Specular Reflection Imaging for Extraction of Neck Vessel Pressure Waveforms

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cardiovascular Physiology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major global health concern, with cardiac function assessed via clinical signs like the jugular venous (JV) pulse waveform.
• Current technological limitations hinder robust measurement and interpretation of JV pulse waveforms, impacting clinical assessment of cardiac function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel remote monitoring tool for robust measurements of jugular venous (JV) pulse waveforms.
• To introduce Specular Reflection Vascular Imaging (SRVI) as a new modality for visualizing and analyzing vascular pulsations.

Main Methods:

• Developed Specular Reflection Vascular Imaging (SRVI), utilizing specular reflection to visualize skin displacements from blood vessel pressure pulsations.
• Captured 10-second videos of the neck at 250 fps under diffuse light illumination in 10 healthy volunteers.
• Extracted carotid artery and jugular vein waveforms by identifying and discriminating skin displacements.

Main Results:

• SRVI successfully identified and discriminated skin displacements corresponding to carotid artery and jugular vein pulsations.
• The technology enabled easier visualization and interpretation of both carotid artery and jugular vein waveforms.
• SRVI demonstrated a 6-fold improvement in signal strength compared to a remote photoplethysmography (rPPG) dataset.

Conclusions:

• Specular Reflection Vascular Imaging (SRVI) shows significant potential as a non-invasive tool for extracting jugular venous pulse waveforms.
• This pilot study serves as a proof-of-concept for SRVI's utility in remote cardiovascular monitoring and assessment.
• SRVI offers improved signal strength and visualization for evaluating cardiac function through JV pulse analysis.