Validation of a new piezo-electronic device for non-invasive measurement of arterial pulse wave velocity according to the artery society guidelines

Our aim was to validate a new device for pulse wave velocity (PWV) measurement – Aortic according to the recommendations of the Artery Society and using SphygmoCor as the comparator device. Methods: 85 subjects 18–80 years-old from both sexes were included, divided into 3 age-groups: <30, 30–60 and >60 years (minimum of 25 individuals per group) and with an equal number of hypertensive and normotensive subjects per group. Weight, height, blood pressure (BP) and PWV were assessed, performing 6 PWV determinations per subject: 3 with Aortic and 3 with SphygmoCor, in an alternate fashion. The Bland–Altman method was used to establish the level of agreement between the two devices. Results: PWV was 6.96 (±1.84) and 7 (±1.54) m/s with Aortic and SphygmoCor, respectively, showing a high correlation: r = 0.89, p < 0.001. Applying the Bland–Altman method, the mean difference between devices was 0.02 (±0.84) m/s, which is considered an excellent level of agreement. Of the study population, 75.3% (n = 64), 15.3% (n = 13) and 9.4% (n = 8) reached an excellent (mean difference ≤0.5 ± 0.8 m/s), acceptable (mean difference ≤1.0 ± 1.5 m/s) and poor (mean difference ≥ 1.0 ± 1.5 m/s) level of agreement, respectively. Conclusion: Aortic showed an excellent level of agreement with SphygmoCor, the reference method, according to the Artery Society recommendations for PWV measurement. This was observed particularly for lower PWV values.