Jugular Venous Pulse Waveform Extraction From a Wearable Radio Frequency Sensor.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cardiovascular Physiology
• Wearable Technology

Background:

• Jugular venous pulse (JVP) is a key indicator of right heart function, but its clinical use is limited by cumbersome sensing methods.
• Non-invasive cardiac monitoring is increasingly important for continuous and at-home health tracking.
• Existing methods for JVP assessment lack portability and ease of use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel wearable near-field radio-frequency (RF) sensor for non-invasive jugular venous pulse (JVP) sensing.
• To assess the sensor's ability to capture repeatable JVP waveform features across different postures.
• To evaluate the potential of the sensor for monitoring cardiac disorders through JVP analysis.

Main Methods:

• A wearable near-field RF sensor was designed and attached to a neck collar positioned over the internal jugular vein.
• Complex vector injection signal processing was utilized to extract JVP waveform features.
• A human study with 21 subjects was conducted, synchronizing sensor data with electrocardiogram (ECG) and phonocardiogram (PCG).

Main Results:

• The proposed RF sensor successfully captured repeatable JVP waveform features, including a-, c-, and v-waves, with consistent timing.
• Morphologically consistent JVP sensing was demonstrated across multiple postures.
• The system quantified morphological JVP changes related to different postures, indicative of cardiac conditions.

Conclusions:

• The developed near-field RF sensor enables non-invasive and continuous JVP monitoring.
• This technology has the potential to enhance cardiac disorder sensing in both clinical and ambulatory settings.
• The wearable sensor offers a practical solution for at-home and remote cardiac health assessment.