Assessment of Non-Contact Measurement Using a Microwave Sensor to Jugular Venous Pulse Monitoring

The jugular venous pulse (JVP) waveform provides an insight into right heart function, and its assessment is important in patients with heart failure. However, the conventional pulse-transducer (contact) method for monitoring this waveform is not frequently used because it requires a high degree of skill. The aim of this study was to confirm the effectiveness of a prototype non-contact system that employs microwave radar (24 GHz, 7 mW; non-contact system) for JVP measurement. Experiments were conducted on eight healthy male volunteers (21.88 ± 0.99 years). JVP measurements were compared between the conventional contact method and the proposed non-contact method. Change in JVP waveform was measured in response to an angle of reclining in five steps from the supine position to 75° of elevation. The obtained JVP measurements were similar between the two methods. Because in the non-contact method the faint pulsation of the JVP is not suppressed by the pressure of a sensor placed on the skin, the prototype microwave radar system is particularly suitable for evaluating the JVP waveform.