J Korean Vasc Surg Soc.  1997 Nov;13(2):248-252.

Assessment of Venous Function Using Photoplethysmography: Laboratory Setup

• Im TH
• Lee HG
• Baik HK
• Park HK
• Nam YS
• Kwon OJ
• Lee KS
• Kwak JY

Abstract

BACLGROUND: It is essential to evaluate hemodynamics of vascular disease in addition to anatomic details. It has been known that the plethysmography represents intravascular(arterial or venous) volume or pressure. Photoplethysmography(PPG) is convenient to use and has been widely used for measurement of venous refill time(VRT). However, it has not been used for evaluation of venous function.
OBJECTIVE
Our study aims at testing the feasibility of evaluation of venous function using PPG.
METHODS
The maneuver established for air PG was slightly modified and applied for the PPG. The test was performed with the object seated in a chair and the legs dependent. The PPG probe was attached to the limbs within 5 cm from medial malleolus. After standardized procedure of leg-raising, putting the leg in dependent position, 1 tip-toe exercise, and 10 tip-toe exercises, the measured parameters were initial emptying time(E1), amount of volume change(V1), refilling time by hydrostatic pressure(F1), refilling time after 1 tip-toe exercise(F2), and ejected volume(V2) and refilling time after 10tip-toe exercises(F3).
RESULTS
The mean(+/-S.D.) values of each parameters were; E1(+/-S.D.)= 14.5+/-6.8 s(N=29), V2/V1= 0.39+/-0.14(N=30), F1= 44.9+/-18.3s(N=30), F2=15.5+/-3.9s(N=30), and F3=23.2+/-5.9s(N=29). There was no correlation between E1 and V2/V1(r = -0.09, P=0.63) , but the parameters of venous refill(F3, F2, F1) showed significant correlation(r = 0.424, P=0.02, F3 vs. F2 , and r= 0.627, P= 0.0003, F3 vs. F1).
CONCLUSION
E1 and V2/V1 are independent parameters representing different functional status i.e. emptying time by hydrostatic pressure and relative emptying volume during exercise respectively, and F1 and F2 are parameters of venous refill related to F3. They could be useful for evaluation of venous function in addition to conventional measurement of VRT.

Keyword

Photoplethysmography; Vein; Function

MeSH Terms

Exercise
Extremities
Hemodynamics
Hydrostatic Pressure
Leg
Photoplethysmography*
Plethysmography
Vascular Diseases
Veins