Measuring blood pressure with an optical sensor

Highlights on the IVAM stand include new sensory developments. Conditions involving the cardiovascular system are among those most frequently cited as a cause of death in the industrialized nations. An important indicator for this is high blood pressure, which is currently still diagnosed and monitored by regularly taking blood pressure mechanically using an upper arm cuff. This method is uncomfortable and limits the patient in their daily activities, and, in comparison to other methods, only delivers a few selective measured values. An optical sensor can provide help here. This sensor, which works using the basic principle of photoplethysmography (PPG), records the fill level of the blood vessels in the skin over time. Using the contour curve (pulse waves) recorded in this manner, a patented procedure is used to identify relevant points in time to determine the cycle of the pressure wave in the aorta, which enables conclusions to be drawn on changes in central blood pressure. In addition to offering an alternative to classic cuff measurement, the process also gives a blood pressure result for each individual heartbeat. With this analysis of short-term and mid-term fluctuations, doctors expect to achieve a novel diagnostic approach for early detection of a variety of conditions in multiple different patient groups (e.g. pre-eclampsia). The sensor developed at the CiS Forschungsinstitut für Mikrosensorik (CiS Research Institute for Microsensors) can be worn in the ear, which, in addition to numerous physiological advantages for signal quality and signal stability, means that it is comfortable to wear throughout the day. In addition to blood pressure, it can record many other vital signs such as heart rate, heart rate variability and blood oxygen levels.


Within the scope of the COMPAMED HIGH-TECH Forum, Dr. Martin Schädel, Head of the MOEMS Division at the CiS Forschungsinstitut für Mikrosensorik, will give a lecture on this development

High-tech communication between the body and modern IT

With its next-generation electrode design, CorTec creates new pathways for communication between the body's own electric signals and modern information technology. This young medical technology company specializes in developing efficient technology for active implants for recording over long periods of time and stimulation of neuronal activity. The technology comprises customized components such as electrodes for derivation and stimulation within the central and peripheral nervous systems. With its patented 'AirRay' electrode technology, CorTec overcomes previous limitations in the electrode field through flexibly adaptable mechanical properties and highly precise manufacturing conditions. The manufacturing process, using ultrashort pulse lasers, makes the technology highly reproducible even at very small dimensions of as little as 25 μm, and with a high density of electrical contacts. The flexibility of the technology enables a wide variety of product properties, such as thickness, the number of contacts, contact spacing and contact shape, and the total size of the electrode, to be modified.

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