Development of Cam Pulsation Simulator for Generating Radial Pulse Waveforms across All Age Groups

Development of Cam Pulsation Simulator for Generating Radial Pulse Waveforms across All Age Groups

The development of a radial pulse simulator is pivotal for advancing wearable medical devices and enhancing pulse diagnosis methods prevalent in Oriental medicine. Such a simulator can be utilized for the calibration of wrist-worn wearable device sensors, as well as for training medical professionals in pulse diagnosis. This study introduces a novel, simple, and cost-effective pulse simulator that can generate a wide range of blood pressure waveforms. This simulator was designed and constructed as a prototype pulse simulator using two precision solenoid valves, an air chamber, a Half-CAM, a pneumatic sensor, and electronic control systems. By regulating air pressure through controlled opening and closing of the solenoid valve, the simulator can produce the desired pulse waveform. The performance of the proposed simulator was evaluated by replicating age-related radial pulses. Pulse waveforms generated by the simulator for four representative age groups (10, 50, 60, and 90 years) were compared with corresponding in vivo data. The experimental results demonstrated that the RMSE (Root Mean Square Error) estimate between the simulated in vivo pulse data and the actual in vivo pulse data was within 10% in all age groups. These findings demonstrate that fine pneumatic control by a solenoid valve allows the generation of sophisticated waveforms and validate that the proposed pulse simulator is capable of generating a diverse range of pulse waveforms.