A Model for Waveform Dissimilarities in Dual-Depth Reflectance-PPG

The pressure wave is attenuated as it travels through the vascular bed of tissue. Consequently, reflectance photoplethysmography (PPG) waveforms probed using dual-penetrating wavelengths, such as green (G) and red R; the deepest) are dissimilar. To unravel the dual-depth aspect of PPG, we modeled the wavelength-dependency of the shape of reflection-PPG signals in G (520-580 nm) and R (625-720nm). Skin compression perturbs the relative contributions of the dermal and subdermal blood volume variations sources (BVVs) to PPG and was used to verify our model. We acquired reflectance-PPG in G and R on the finger of nine subjects (ages, 26-32 yrs). Two parameters were used for describing dual-depth dissimilarities: the phase shift, $\phi $, between the first harmonics of the subdermal and dermal BVVs, and the observed phase shift (PS) between PPG signals in G and R. The average $\phi $ was 37.6, CI 95% [22.0, 53.2] degrees. At uncompressed skin, this corresponds to an average PS of 12.5, [7.8, 17.2] degrees. Our results suggest that phase parameters may enable microvascular characterization and diagnosis.