Towards a dependable cardiovascular surveillance system

Abstract

An aneurysm is a life-threatening condition,which left untreated may burst or rupture, causing massive blood loss. One of the currently available treatments for aortic aneurysms is endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). However, in spite of major advances in the surgical techniques, complications are still likely to occur making it recommendable to maintain lifelong surveillance. In order to reduce and even eliminate current surveillance imaging exams, as well as to reduce follow-up costs, new technological solutions are being pursued. The work presented herein aims to develop a novel and dependable non- invasive coronary stent-graft monitoring system based on RFID technology. The monitoring system uses an inductive coupling interface to capture the pressures given by a cluster of sensors placed on the stent-graft's wall. The application of multimodal data fusion techniques enables the improvement of the surveillance system performance in terms of accuracy, robustness and reliability. The processing of the pressure signalsmeasured inside the aneurysm sac with other physiological signals - electrocardiogram (ECG) and arterial blood pressure (ABP) - will allow obtaining better monitoring resolution and reliability. The techniques utilized to diagnose deviations fromthe normal operation or faults in the flexible pressure sensors are described and tested, showing promising results for achieving a highly reliable system. © 2014, Springer International Publishing Switzerland.