A Clinical System for Myocardial Ischemia Detection Based on Fiber Optic Sensor

This study developed and validated a non-contact clinical system for myocardial ischemia detection using a fiber optic sensor (FOS) placed under a mattress. A novel algorithm was introduced to assess the hemodynamic consequences of ischemia by quantifying changes in cardiac function. The algorithm calculated the ratio between the IK and JJ intervals of the ballistocardiography (BCG) waveform, a temporal feature that serves as a biomarker for myocardial contractility impaired by ischemia. An initial cohort of 5 healthy subjects and 5 patients with myocardial ischemia was used to establish a diagnostic threshold, yielding an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.9556. A separate clinical validation with 5 additional subjects subsequently confirmed the system's effectiveness. The analysis demonstrated that an 8-second signal duration was sufficient for accurate detection, and processing times ranging from 1.2 ms to 30.7 ms across various hardware platforms affirmed the system's real-time capability. The results highlight a robust and non-invasive system for continuous cardiac monitoring, offering an automated and objective tool to support the early clinical detection of myocardial ischemia.