Proof-of-Concept Study for Reflectance Pulse Oximetry Using Optical-Fibre-Based Sensors

Abstract

Optical fibres enable to design of new textile-based sensors for an unobtrusive, continuous, and long-term acquisition of photoplethysmography (PPG) signals. However, no detailed information is available in the scientific literature about the accuracy of measuring blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) and the feasibility of PPG based blood pressure measurement. This proof-of-concept study examined these aspects for a woven sensing patch applied on the forehead in five healthy participants. The SpO2 estimation revealed an amplitude of the root-mean-squared error of 3.6%, and sufficient high signal quality was achieved for blood pressure estimation during 40% of the monitoring time. These results indicate that textile-based sensors can reach the required PPG signal quality to estimate multiple vital signs simultaneously.