Heart-rate modulation of non-vascularized epidermis optical attenuation coefficient

Matheus B. Martinelli; Christian T. Dominguez; Luciano Bachmann; George C. Cardoso

doi:10.1117/12.2508882

1 March 2019 Heart-rate modulation of non-vascularized epidermis optical attenuation coefficient

Matheus B. Martinelli, Christian T. Dominguez, Luciano Bachmann, George C. Cardoso

Proceedings Volume 10877, Dynamics and Fluctuations in Biomedical Photonics XVI; 108770L (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2508882
Event: SPIE BiOS, 2019, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Video plethysmography (vPPG) is a noninvasive, remote diagnostics method that monitors cardiac activity by measuring subtle variations in the optical properties of skin driven by heart pulsations. However, the origin of the fluctuations in skin color at the heart rate responsible for the vPPG signal is not well understood. Using optical coherence tomography (OCT), we show evidence that the optical attenuation coefficient of the outermost layer of the epidermis is modulated at heart rate, being the modulation surrogate for the mechanical changes in the skin. We propose a hydraulic shock hypothesis to explain the phenomenon. The mechanical modulation of the non-vascularized epidermis would explain the modulation of optical properties of superficial skin, allowing for detection of pulsation even for non-penetrating radiation wavelengths such as blue light, as it is often observed.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Matheus B. Martinelli, Christian T. Dominguez, Luciano Bachmann, and George C. Cardoso "Heart-rate modulation of non-vascularized epidermis optical attenuation coefficient ", Proc. SPIE 10877, Dynamics and Fluctuations in Biomedical Photonics XVI, 108770L (1 March 2019); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2508882

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