Measuring pulses

Measuring pulses

We get most information from waves, light waves for seeing and sound waves for hearing.

Many medical equipments utilize waves, x-rays, ultrasounds, ECG, CAT scan.

Heart pumps out blood in waves. We measure heart rate, systolic and diastolic pressures. But a lot more information can be obtained from blood pulses. We can sense the elasticity of the blood vessels. We can sense the viscosity of the blood. 

In Chinese medicine, physicians use fingers to sense pulses at patients’ wrists. There are many patterns of blood pulses. These patterns can provide a great amount of information about our health conditions. Unfortunately, it is difficult to become skilled in the art of pulse measuring. 

Technology can help. We can use Fourier analysis to discern wave patterns. How good will be the quality of diagnosis? AlphaGo can beat the best Go player in the world. But the rules of the game are simple. Biological systems are a lot more complex. We need to know material science to connect blood vessel elasticity with certain wave patterns. We need to know fluid dynamics to understand fluid flow in elastic tubes. We need to know how compositions of blood affect its movement. Still, we can expect, with continuous research and experiments, pulse measuring systems will eventually provide accurate and reliable information about important indicators of human health.