BPULS

BPULS™ Non invasive affordable detection of Atherosclerosis

BPULS is a device to determine Pulse Wave Velocity in humans based on the method and measurements introduced by Cardiologist Dr. Helen Marcoyannopoulou Fojas. The method is protected by the international patent publication number WO/2000/013584 and US Pat US 6537226.

Dr. Helen Marcoyannopoulou Fojas has introduced a new and original method of determining Pulse Wave Velocity which is an indirect way of detecting the elasticity of the arterial wall. The method measures the time delay between the recorded pulses of the the left external carotid artery as the “central point” and the left dorsalis pedis artery as the “peripheral point”. This time delay is normally affected by the age and the height of subjects examined. A shorter time delay would indicate decrease in arterial wall elasticity. It is a valuable tool to diagnose atherosclerosis in its very early stages so that proper measures can be implemented to delay its progress.

While the sensors used for the first studies were microphones, Standard Instruments has developed optical sensors to be used with BPULS. The sensors distribute light with a specific wavelength into the skin and due to the structure of Haemoglobin, the reflected light shows a correlate of the amount of blood in the area under the sensor. This then enables us to have a very high quality signal with less disturbing influences by other signal sources. The amplitude variations due to anatomic differences between individuals are of lesser influence as only the timing of the signals is of interest.

A single lead ECG is simultaneously recorded with the arterial pulses for easier identification of the latter especially if they are interchanged. The Q wave of the ECG serves as the reference point for measurement of the time delay between the two pulses.