Comparision of photo pulse plethysmography module with Mobil-O-graph for measurement of pulse wave velocity

Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is an indicator of arterial stiffness and one of the prognostic tools in clinical practice. We compared the finger photo pulse plethysmography (PPG) module with the Mobil-O-Graph for assessment of PWV. 80 healthy subjects and patients have participated in this study, among them, 42 were males, and 38 were females. Recording for the subjects was executed between 9, and 11 a.m., after a light breakfast. Lead – II ECG along with PPG were recorded in dual channel AD converter and Mobil-O-Graph simultaneously. The analogue signals of both the devices of the AD converter were digitized by using the sound card of the computer for the measurement of Pulse Transit Time [PTT]. The mean age of the participants was 41.5 ± 5.48 and BMI-26.42 ± 5.80. PWV values measured by the devices were similar (P > 0.05). There is a significant positive correlation of PWV between PPG and Mobil O graph, r-0.92 (p = 0.001). Bland-Altman analysis indicated that a mean difference for PWV is .0.3 m/s, which is limits of agreement (1.4–2.4) between PPG and Mobil-O-Graph. Intra-class correlation (ICC) for PWV was 0.89, and the coefficient of variation (CV) was 9.2%. Based on the findings of the present study, we suggest that the measurement of PWV obtained from the PPG is probably a reliable one. It offers the advantages of lower cost and greater practicality about application and usage.