CardiaPPG - A Portable, Low-Cost Photopletismograph for the Evaluation of the Cardiovascular Age

Photoplethysmography (PPG) is a non-invasive technique employed for the detection of blood volume fluctuations within microvessels, accomplished by measuring variations in light absorption. PPG provides valuable insights into several cardiovascular parameters, such as vascular age, stiffness index, and reflection index. By comparing these parameters with reference values from the literature, physicians can obtain a comprehensive assessment of the subject's cardiovascular health.This paper presents the CardiaPPG instrument, specifically designed for the early screening and identification of cardio-vascular diseases through PPG analysis. The major features of CardiaPPG include its non-invasiveness, lightweight and portable nature, suitability for large-scale population screening, including low-income, rural, and developing regions, and user-friendliness even for non-specialized personnel. Additionally, the instrument establishes a correlation (R2 = 0.94) between the calculated cardiovascular age using PPG and the individual's demographic age. This correlation can potentially aid in the identification of early-onset severe cardiovascular conditions, such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and ischemic heart disease.