Laser method for recording displacement of the heart and chest wall

Several non-invasive methods are in use for recording mechanocardiograms. In this paper a new laser technique will be presented to measure heart motion, chest wall displacement and other displacement curves of cardiovascular structures. Principles of the laser displacement technique are described. The measurement range within which displacement is sensed, is 32 mm with a detector to object distance of 25 cm and a resolution of 8 micron (digital output) or 16 micron (analogue output). The specific surface of which motion is sensed is 1 mm2. The sensitivity of the system is 156 mV/mm at a frequency bandwidth of 0-2 kHz. Assessment of the laser displacement technique was carried out during 6 dog experiments on the closed chest, on the exposed heart, on blood vessels and also on the chest wall of 5 normal subjects. Displacement of the chest wall at the apical site ranges between 0.3-0.8 mm and of the exposed heart between 3-10 mm.