Joan Lambert Cause obtained his MSc degree in Biomedical Engineering from the Universidad de Oriente (UO), Cuba in 2018. Actually, he is working in a joint PhD between the Vrije Universiteit of Brussels (VUB) and Universidad de Oriente. His research focuses on the area of Photoplethysmography (PPG). Specifically, in the study of the influence of skin tone, contact force and temperature on the waveform of the multi-wavelength PPG signal.
Multi-wavelength photoplethysmography is a cost-effective, non-invasive optical detection method based on the light-absorbing properties of biological tissue, and is used to estimate volumetric changes in blood at different vascular depths. The components of this signal can provide valuable information about the cardiovascular system and can be used to monitor vital signals. Accurate measurement of PPG is beneficial for clinical health assessment and is important for effective diagnosis of many types of cardiovascular disease. Several factors have been identified that affect PPG recordings and limit their standardization, including intensity and properties of emitted light, interference from ambient light, photodetector sensitivity, measurement site (i.e. site of probe connection), contact force, skin tone or type, as well as ambient temperature. Despite great progress in hardware and signal processing, a clinically acceptable PPG sensing device has yet to be established. The objective of the research is to develop a new multimodal sensor system for the precise measurement of the PPG signal in clinical applications, taking into account the particular influence of the aforementioned phenomena.