A portable device for optical assessment of the cardiovascular condition

A hand-held prototype device for detection and processing of the tissue-remitted optical signals has been developed and tested. The photoplethysmography (PPG) principle was applied to follow the dilation and contraction of skin blood vessels during the cardiac cycle. Cardiovascular condition of the monitored person was assessed by temporal analysis of the recorded PPG signals as well as by shape analysis of the mean single-period PPG signals.