Project Description: 

Heart Failure (HF) affects over 6.8 million people in the United States (U.S.) and accounts for over 1 million annual hospitalizations. With a 30-day readmission rate of 25%, hospitalizations cost the U.S. $43.6 billion annually. Hypervolemia is an indicator of HF and is assessed by measuring jugular venous pressure (JVP). The current method to assess JVP involves measuring the height of the peak pulsation in the internal jugular vein (IJV) above the sternal angle using rulers. This method is subject to high inter-observer and intra-user variability. Physicians disregard this method and instead opt for visual descriptions of the JVP, which further increases inter-observer variability. While other quantitative and non-invasive JVP sensors have been made, these rely on experts to locate the IJV for placement. Locating the IJV is difficult, even for advanced HF experts. There is a need to provide an objective JVP measurement in a way that decreases inter-observer variability and does not require expert placement. Our team created a wearable device consisting of multiple photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors aided by an electrocardiogram (ECG) to automatically locate the IJV and determine JVP. Each sensor determines if the jugular venous pressure waveform is present. Using the identified JVP waveforms, we can determine the pulse wave velocity (PWV) of blood in the IJV, which can be used to approximate the JVP. We expect that this approach will provide physicians with a reliable, objective measurement of JVP, with the potential for at-home monitoring. This would allow physicians to track patients’ condition and adjust their medication before they experience HF decompensation and are re-hospitalized.