A Non-Invasive and Non-Contact Jugular Venous Pulse Measurement: A Feasibility Study

The Jugular Venous Pulse (JVP) is a vital gauge of proper heart health, reflecting the venous pressure via the Jugular Vein observation. It offers crucial insights for discerning numerous cardiac and pulmonary conditions. Yet, its evaluation is often over-shadowed by the challenges in its process, especially in patients with neck obesity obstructing visibility. Although central venous catheterization provides an alternative, it is invasive and typically reserved for critical cases. Traditional JVP monitoring methods, both visual and via catheterization, present significant hurdles, limiting their frequent application despite their clinical significance. Therefore, there is a pressing need for a non-invasive, efficient JVP monitoring method accessible for home-based and hospitalized patients. Such a method could preempt numerous hospital admissions by offering early indicators. We introduce a non-invasive method using a frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar for JVP estimation directly from the skin surface. Our signal processing technique involves an eigen beamforming method to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio for better estimation of JVP. By meticulously fine-tuning various parameters, we identified the optimal settings to enhance the JVP signal quality. In addition, we performed a detailed morphological analysis comparing the JVP and photoplethysmography signals. Our investigation effectively achieved signal localization within a Direction of Arrival (DoA) range from -20° to 20°. This initial study validates the effectiveness of using a 60 GHz far-field radar in measuring JVP. Abstract Figure