Identifying Gravity-Related Artifacts on Ballistocardiography Signals by Comparing Weightlessness and Normal Gravity...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Physiological Measurement
• Sensor Technology

Background:

• Modern ballistocardiography (BCG) and seismocardiography (SCG) utilize acceleration sensors to detect body movements from cardiac activity.
• Acceleration artifacts, caused by sensor rotation, can distort BCG-SCG signals and impede accurate interpretation.
• Understanding and mitigating these artifacts is crucial for advancing non-invasive cardiovascular monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To generate hypotheses for detecting and eliminating acceleration artifacts in BCG-SCG signals.
• To differentiate artifactual accelerations from heart-induced movements.
• To enhance the accuracy and reliability of BCG-SCG measurements.

Main Methods:

• Collecting multimodal data (BCG-SCG, electrocardiogram) from healthy participants during parabolic flights (simulating varying gravity from µg to 1.8g).
• Employing 6-degree-of-freedom sensors (accelerometers and gyroscopes) to measure acceleration and angular velocities.
• Conducting descriptive data analysis of sensor data under different gravitational states.

Main Results:

• A multimodal dataset will be generated from data collected during parabolic flights (September 2024 - July 2025).
• Hypotheses will be formulated for detecting and eliminating rotation-induced acceleration artifacts.
• Data analysis is planned until December 2025, with expected publication by June 2026.

Conclusions:

• The study will advance the understanding of acceleration bias in BCG-SCG signals.
• It represents an initial step towards developing methods for artifact detection and elimination.
• Improved BCG-SCG methods will contribute to more accurate, non-invasive cardiovascular assessments.