Heart rate monitoring and cardiovascular stiffness estimation with Fiber Bragg Grating sensors embedded in soft patches

The impact that cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have on the population puts the scientific community in a state of strong concern. CVDs represent, in fact, the main cause of deaths in the adult population worldwide. Among the main cardiovascular diseases, we find ischemic cardiomyopathy, ischemic stroke, myocardial infarction and peripheral vascular pathologies. The increase in deaths caused by cardiovascular diseases is constantly increasing, thus demanding for improved early diagnosis that can both limit the number of deaths per year and reduce the economic engagement related to the healthcare. In this context, here, to support timely diagnosis, we propose a minimally invasive sensor, based on Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG), embedded in a soft silicone patch to increase its pressure sensitivity. The proposed sensor is able to monitor the heart rate, and, from the second derivative of the processed signal, it is possible to get important information about cardiovascular stiffness.