2.75 Portable Pulse Detector for CPR

Affiliation: MIT Medical Device Design (2.75)

Working with a group of emergency physicians at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, my team and I developed a portable and compact pulse detection device for use in emergency settings.

Our device is based on the principles reflection photoplethysmography (PPG), which detects changes in blood volume by transmitting and measuring the amount of light reflected via a photosensor. We used an off-the-shelf optical sensor from PulseSensor.com with the Seeduino Xiao microprocessor. Our custom signal processing algorithm utilizes normalization and derivative-based processing to identify pulse signals from the sensor. Feedback is given to the user via audio and visual signals from a speaker and LED.

Our end product measures blood flow in the central arteries (carotid and femoral), is robust in a variety of environment and patient body types, is quick to apply with minimal interference with patient body and other CPR devices, and does not require active, continuous monitoring to communicate pulse presence with user