Generating Age-Dependent Radial Artery Pulses with a Pneumatic Pulse Simulator: A Feasibility Study

Radial pulse simulators can play an important role in the advancement of wearable healthcare devices and the modernization of pulse diagnosis methods, which are widely used in Oriental Medicine. They can be used to calibrate wrist-worn sensors and train medical professionals for pulse palpations. This study proposes a new, simple, and cost-effective pulse simulator capable of producing a wide range of blood pressure waveforms. It designed and constructed a prototype pulse simulator, consisting of two precision solenoid valves, an air compressor, a pneumatic pressure sensor, and control electronics. By controlling the opening and closing of the solenoid valves, the simulator regulates the pneumatic pressure to generate desired pulse waveforms. To assess the performance of the prototype, age-related radial pulses were considered, and the pulse waveforms generated by the prototype for representative three age groups (10, 50, and 90-year-olds), which show distinctly different pulse waveforms, are compared with pre-existing in-vivo data for the same age groups. The results show that the Root-Mean-Squared-Error (RMSE) between the experimentally obtained pulses and in-vivo pulses of approximately 6% for all groups, indicating the feasibility of the proposed pulse simulator for creating a range of pulse waveforms.