Application of a minimized wearable device combined with SpO2 and ECG sensors to detect stenosis or occlusion of arteriovenous fistula/graft, progression of arteriosclerosis and arrhythmia

Abstract

Stroke is a common disease in modern society, which is the occluded and/or hemorrhaging of the blood vessels in the brain, producing blood clots leading to brain dysfunctions. When faced with the risk of stroke, most people tend to measure their blood pressure first; however, aside from hypertension, vessel atherosclerosis and loss of elasticity are also the causes for blood vessel stenosis and/or rupturing. Additionally, in dialysis patients, prolonged needle puncture will also decrease vessel elasticity, which leads to increased stenosis of hemodialysis access and ineffective hemodialysis. In this study, we proposed a method to integrate and analyze signals measured from SpO2 and ECG sensors to detect blood vessel elasticity and stenosis. Our proposed system has advantages in size and cost, is portable and allows patients to record real-time and long-term blood vessel health status. Our method is a non-invasive measurement of the physiological signals, which can rapidly analyze the stenosis of hemodialysis access, and to take long-term records. The data collected can be analyzed by physicians for precision medicine and preventative health.