Blood Pressure Estimation Based on Photoplethysmography: Finger Versus Wrist
Open accessAbstract
The photoplethysmogram (PPG) signal is an attractive candidate for unobtrusive blood pressure (BP) monitoring, as it is widely measured by wrist-worn devices. However, most studies of PPG-based BP estimation techniques have used finger PPG signals. This study compares PPG-based BP estimation when using finger and wrist optical sensors. Subject-specific linear regression models employing pulse transit time, PPG intensity ratio and heart rate as features for BP estimation were trained and tested using PPGs and reference continuous BP values obtained from 22 healthy participants performing 2 cold pressor tests.$Mean\pm stan$- dard deviation of differences, and the mean absolute difference between reference and estimated systolic BP values were:$0.47\pm 10.44$mmHg and 7.78 mmHg for finger PPG signals; and$1.05\pm 12.86$mmHg and 9.69 mmHg for wrist PPG signals. Increases and decreases in systolic BP of at least 10 mmHg were detected with F1 scores of: 0.81 and 0.76 for finger PPG; and 0.75 and 0.61 for wrist PPG. Models performed better with finger PPG signals. Different signal processing approaches were required for finger and wrist signals, indicating that finger-based BP estimation models should not be generalized directly to wrist PPGs.
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The pulse wave shape at the upper wrist differs from that at the finger.
“First, the pulse wave shape at the upper wrist differs from that at the finger [58], [59].”
From Wearable Photoplethysmography for Cardiovascular Monitoring (2022) · cites this paper as [59]
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- Authors
- Paliakaite, B., Charlton, P. H., Rapalis, A., Plusciauskaite, V., Piartli, P., Kaniusas, E., & Marozas, V.
- Affiliations
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Kaunas University of Technology (LT)
- Venue
- 2021 Computing in Cardiology (CinC)
- Publisher
- IEEE
- Published
- 2021-09-13
- Pages
- 1-4
- ISSN
- 2325-887X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4205158800
- Cited by
- 11
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2
- FWCI
- 3.31
- Type
- conference paper
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- vb.ktu.edu
- Locations
- Computing in cardiology (publishedVersion)
- KTUePubl (Repository of Kaunas University of Technology) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- European Regional Development Fund (01.2.2-LMT-K-718-01-0030)
- Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT)
- British Heart Foundation (FS/20/20/34626)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Non-Invasive Vital Sign Monitoring
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiovascular Health and Disease Prevention
- Keywords
- photoplethysmography, blood pressure estimation, finger PPG, pulse transit time, cold pressor test, systolic blood pressure, non-invasive blood pressure monitoring, wearable sensors
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