Preliminary investigation of arterial aging derived from the iPhone photoplethysmography: focused on finger contact pressure

Abstract

We investigated the influence of photoplethysmogram (PPG) to the finger contact pressure, on indices derived from the acceleration PPG (APPG) believed to reflect arterial aging using a smartphone photoplethysmograthy. The first and second peak amplitudes in the APPG, 'a' and 'b' respectively, were measured using an iPhone 7 in 12 participants and the 'b/a' ratios for 4 conditions (i.e., relaxed, normal, little strengthened, and strengthen take hold the iPhone 7) were derived. Results indicate that the b/a ratio of 3 condition (i.e., relaxed, normal, little strengthened) were not significantly different except for 'strengthen'. In conclusion, these findings suggest that use of b/a iPhone photoplethysmography, if the range of normal contact pressure, might be practical measurement when assessing arterial aging.