On-chip laser Doppler vibrometer for arterial pulse wave velocity measurement

Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is an important marker for cardiovascular risk. The Laser Doppler vibrometry has been suggested as a potential technique to measure the local carotid PWV by measuring the transit time of the pulse wave between two locations along the common carotid artery (CCA) from skin surface vibrations. However, the present LDV setups are still bulky and difficult to handle. We present in this paper a more compact LDV system integrated on a CMOS-compatible silicon-on-insulator substrate. In this system, a chip with two homodyne LDVs is utilized to simultaneously measure the pulse wave at two different locations along the CCA. Measurement results show that the dual-LDV chip can successfully conduct the PWV measurement.