Ambulatory Device to Predict Myocardial Infarction and the Likelihood of Ischemic Stroke

Abstract

This paper identifies a robust approach in the development of an ambulatory device to predict myocardial infarction and the likelihood of ischemic stroke for modern healthcare in the aspect of preliminary diagnosis. This device best suits for lowcost and portable applications. The existing systems employed in the stroke diagnosis are only the imaging modalities which are very rigid, non portable and costly and hence, it is considered as a major drawback in ambulatory and emergency applications. The aim of this paper is to design a user friendly and portable device which uses the ECG (Electrocardiography) and PPG (Photoplethysmography).The PPG sensors are placed over the carotid (neck) region in the form of a neck pad and the radial artery (fingertip) to obtain the pulse wave. The obtained pulse wave in turn is processed to obtain the velocity profile of the artery thus as an indicator of arterial stiffness. Also, the blood pressure (BP) is calculated continuously from the PWV (Pulse Wave Velocity) which prevents the cerebrovascular accidents. The common ECG parameters those that cause myocardial infarction and that predict the likelihood of ischemic stroke are the arrhythmias, ST segment deviations, T–wave inversions and QT prolongations. The ambulatory device designed here is a portable unit interfaced along with the PC (Personal Computer) through the RS-232 serial port communication for the processing and analysis of the ECG and PPG signals using the MATLAB software.