Quantitative determination of arterial pulse wave velocity by non-interfering bioimpedance sensing.

Measurement of pulse wave velocity (PWV) in arteries is demonstrated with a novel measurement technique. Localized measurements are facilitated over arterial lengths below 10 cm on both the bicep and the wrist. Measurements do not interfere with the physiological state of the person or patient on which the measurement is performed. The scheme is based on impedance sensing utilizing novel conjugate impedances that eliminate destructive cross coupling between sets of electrodes. Initial measurements show that the test subject has a PWV of 8.0 +/- 0.1 m/s and 7.1 +/-0.2 on the wrist and bicep, respectively. The measurement distances were 8 cm and 5 cm, respectively.