A Feasibility Assessment on the Use of FBG Sensors for Pulse Wave Detection

Pulse waves (PWs) contain important information about the cardiovascular status of patients, making their accurate analysis crucial in reducing cardiovascular risk. Photoplethysmography (PPG), an optical technique that detects PW by measuring volumetric changes in blood vessels induced by blood flow, is one of the most widely used methods for PW monitoring. In this work, we propose a novel approach for PW detection based on plethysmograph (PG) signal. The sensor is based on a Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) embedded into a silicone patch to improve its strain sensitivity and reduce fragility. To evaluate its performance, the sensor output is compared to that of a commercial PPG sensor, the MAX30102. Additionally, both PPG and PG have been tested on healthy volunteers while simultaneously recording electrocardiograms (ECG) as a reference for heart rate measurement. The results show a high level of consistency between the signals, confirming the feasibility of the proposed approach.