Tactile-Transparent Wearable Sensor for Clinician-Friendly Pulse Wave Velocity Monitoring and Cardiovascular Risk Profiling.

Abstract

Arterial stiffening is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, particularly affecting organs with low vascular resistance, such as the brain and kidneys. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is the clinical gold standard for arterial stiffness assessment; however, conventional equipment requires complex setups and trained operators, limiting real-world and point-of-care monitoring. Here, we introduce a tactile-transparent wearable (TTW) sensor that preserves physicians' tactile pulse palpation abilities while providing quantitative cardiovascular risk assessment by integrating flexible Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) electrodes and ultrathin graphene oxide dielectric films. In a clinical study with 20 healthy volunteers (aged 22-60 years), the TTW sensor showed strong agreement with Doppler ultrasound for carotid-radial PWV (Pearson's <i>r</i> = 0.88, <i>p</i> < 0.001; mean difference = - 0.084 m/s) and identified that arterial stiffness is significantly correlated with age and BMI (both <i>p</i> < 0.001). High-fidelity waveform analysis further provided dynamic vascular risk indices (augmentation index, reflection index, stiffness index) not accessible by Doppler. This TTW sensor democratizes arterial stiffness assessment, providing transformative potential for preventive cardiology and enabling widespread adoption, especially in resource-limited or community healthcare settings.