Determining heart activity present in the pressure sensors of a dialysis machine

Determination of heart status during dialysis can improve patient monitoring. Pressure sensors in the dialysis machine measures the heart pulses that propagates in the body and enter the extracorporeal blood circuit. A peristaltic blood pump, located in the same circuit, introduces strong periodic pressure pulses that interfere with the much weaker cardiac component. These signal characteristics make the extraction of the heart activity challenging. In the present study, we explore the possibility to extract and analyze the cardiac component using simulated data. The accuracy of the timing of each heartbeat is analyzed. Additionally, the heart component is extracted from patient pressure recordings, and compared to the heart rate computed from a photoplethysmogram. The results show that heart timings can be accurately determined using the pressure sensors of a dialysis machine.