Comparison of Pulse Wave Signal Monitoring Techniques with Different Fiber-Optic Interferometric Sensing Elements

Abstract

Pulse wave (PW) measurement is a highly prominent technique, used in biomedical diagnostics. Development of novel PW sensors with increased accuracy and reduced susceptibility to motion artifacts will pave the way to more advanced healthcare technologies. This paper reports on a comparison of performance of fiber optic pulse wave sensors, based on Fabry–Perot interferometer, fiber Bragg grating, optical coherence tomography (OCT) and singlemode-multimode-singlemode intermodal interferometer. Their performance was tested in terms of signal to noise ratio, repeatability of demodulated signals and suitability of demodulated signals for extraction of information about direct and reflected waves. It was revealed that the OCT approach of PW monitoring provided the best demodulated signal quality and was most robust against motion artifacts. Advantages and drawbacks of all compared PW measurement approaches in terms of practical questions, such as multiplexing capabilities and abilities to be interrogated by portable hardware are discussed.

Recent Advances in Biomedical Photonic Sensors: A Focus on Optical-Fibre-Based Sensing

“…Finally, Ushakov et al compared several interferometric fibre-optics sensing techniques for pulse wave monitoring, including FPI, FBG, optical coherence tomography (OCT) and a singlemode-multimode-singlemode interferometer [54]. The benchmark was based on a series of quality metrics from the pulse wave signal.…”

Special Issue “Optical Fiber Interferometric Sensors: New Production Methodologies and Novel Applications”

“…Another paper that contributed to the success of this SI, from the authors of [5], reports on different optical fiber-based interferometric techniques to monitor the PW signal. The authors provide an exhaustive comparison of performance (signal to noise ratio, repeatability, and suitability of demodulated signals), of the optical fiber sensors based on fiber Bragg grating (FBG), Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI), single mode-multimode-single mode intermodal interferometer and optical coherence tomography (OCT), to monitor the PW signal [5]. From the presented study, it was concluded that OCT-based sensors outperform the other solutions in terms of signal demodulation quality and robustness and presented a clear discussion of the advantages and drawbacks of all compared PW measurement approaches [5].…”

“…The authors provide an exhaustive comparison of performance (signal to noise ratio, repeatability, and suitability of demodulated signals), of the optical fiber sensors based on fiber Bragg grating (FBG), Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI), single mode-multimode-single mode intermodal interferometer and optical coherence tomography (OCT), to monitor the PW signal [5]. From the presented study, it was concluded that OCT-based sensors outperform the other solutions in terms of signal demodulation quality and robustness and presented a clear discussion of the advantages and drawbacks of all compared PW measurement approaches [5].…”

Fiber Optic SMS Sensor for Simultaneous Measurement of Strain and Curvature

“…Fiber optic sensors (FOSs) are the subject of active research due to their high potential accuracy, electromagnetic neutrality, compact size, multiplexing capability, and remote interrogation capability. FOSs allow to measure various physical influences, such as temperature, tension, bending, etc., which is necessary for various applications: from monitoring buildings and structures to medical diagnostics [1,2]. One of the most used types of FOS are sensors based on fiber interferometers or fiber Bragg gratings.…”