Non-contact wide-field hemodynamic imaging reveals the inverted jugular venous pulse waveform

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally. Cardiovascular monitoring is important to prevent diseases from progressing. The jugular venous pressure waveform (JVP) is able to provide important information about cardiac health. Factors such as mechanical deformations, electric abnormalities, and irregular external forces change the fundamental shape of the JVP. However, current methods for measuring the JVP require invasive catheter insertion, or subjective qualitative visual inspection of the patient’s jugular pulse. Thus, JVP are not routinely performed, and are scheduled only when there is probable cause for catheterisation. Non-invasive monitoring methods would benefit JVP monitoring. Recently, there has been a surge in focus on photoplethysmographic imaging (PPGI) systems. These systems are non-contact wide-field imaging systems able to assess blood pulse waveforms across a large area of the body. However, PPGI has not been previously explored for measuring jugular venous pulse. In this study, we demonstrate for the first time that the jugular venous pulse waveform can be observed non-invasively using a novel PPGI system, Coded Hemodynamic Imaging (CHI). While traditional monitoring methods measure the JVP at a single location, CHI’s wide-field imaging capabilities made observing the pulse’s spatial trajectory possible for the first time. Two distinct types of pulse waveforms were observed traveling through the neck using CHI. By analysing the interparticipant spatial patterns, signal temporal characteristics, and comparing the blood pulse waveforms to the JVP, it was concluded that these two waveforms were major arterial (carotid) and venous (jugular) blood pulse waveforms, and that the jugular pulse exhibited a strong correlation to the JVP. Thus, CHI provides a novel way to analyse cardiac health through non-contact jugular pulse waveform monitoring.