Ventricular arrhythmia detection with a wearable ring-type photoplethysmography sensor: A feasibility study

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Wearable Technology

Background:

• Ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) are a primary cause of sudden cardiac death.
• Early VA detection is critical for patient survival.
• Wrist-worn photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors show limited success in VA detection; ring-type sensors remain uninvestigated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the sensitivity of a ring-type wearable PPG sensor in detecting induced VAs.
• To compare PPG sensor data with electrocardiogram (ECG) for VA detection accuracy.

Main Methods:

• Patients undergoing VA induction procedures were enrolled.
• A ring-type PPG sensor (CART-I) and ECG were used for data collection.
• Sensitivity was calculated, and Bland-Altman analysis assessed agreement in arrhythmia duration.

Main Results:

• The study included 25 patients with 67 VA episodes (27 ventricular fibrillation, 40 ventricular tachycardia).
• The ring-type PPG sensor achieved 94% sensitivity in detecting VAs (100% for VF, 90% for VT).
• Excellent agreement (ICC 0.998) was found between PPG and ECG for arrhythmia duration.

Conclusions:

• A ring-type wearable PPG device demonstrates high sensitivity for detecting VAs.
• This technology shows promise for non-invasive, early detection of life-threatening arrhythmias.