Does an ear-worn continuous ballistocardiogram (BCG) sensor accurately measure cardiac contractility parameters such as the pre-ejection period?
An ear-worn continuous BCG sensor can reliably measure the RJ interval, which correlates linearly with the heart's pre-ejection period, offering a portable method to monitor cardiac contractility.
Traditionally, ballistocardiogram (BCG) has been measured using large and stationary devices. In this work, we demonstrate a portable and continuous BCG monitor that is wearable at the ear. The device has the form factor of a hearing aid and is wirelessly connected to a PC for data recording and analysis. With the ear as an anchoring point, the device uses a MEMS tri-axial accelerometer to measure BCG at the head. Morphological differences exist between head BCG and traditional BCG, but the principal peaks (J waves) and their vectors are preserved. The frequency of J waves corresponds to heart rate, and when used in conjunction with an electrocardiogram's (ECG) R wave, the timing of J waves yields the RJ interval. Results from our clinical study show linear correlation between the RJ interval and the heart's pre-ejection period during hemodynamic maneuvers, thus revealing important information about cardiac contractility and its regulation.
He et al. (Wed,) studied this question.
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