PhysioPatch: a multimodal and adaptable wearable patch for cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary assessment

Abstract

Remote monitoring systems offer significant advantages in assessing cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary health, facilitating early diagnosis and enabling personalized treatment plans. In this article, we present a novel wearable patch, PhysioPatch, which could facilitate comprehensive monitoring of cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary functions by simultaneously capturing various physiological signals, including electrocardiogram (ECG), seismocardiogram (SCG), photoplethysmogram (PPG), and body temperature. The design comprises a main body intended for placement on the mid-sternum and a detachable daughter body, enabling distal measurements to enhance comprehensive assessment. While the main body includes the sensors for measuring the body temperature, ECG, proximal PPG and SCG signals, and other electronics such as the microcontroller, the battery, the battery management system (BMS), the Bluetooth, and the microSD card;the daughter body houses the sensors for distal pulse vibration and PPG signal acquisition. Along with the system design, the algorithms to derive various hemodynamic parameters (heart rate (HR), HR variability (HRV), respiration rate, and oxygen saturation) are also presented. The system was validated with a human subject study including 20 participants, and the results have revealed that the PhysioPatch is capable of achieving high-quality signals, resulting in accurate derivation of hemodynamic parameters. Overall, such a system could potentially offer continuous health monitoring outside clinical settings, regardless of time and environmental stressors.