Abstract
Recently, a LED-transistor optoelectronic package (Sensor Technology 850A) has been used to measure peripheral vascular responses. This report examines the calibration and measurement replicability of this device and relates device output to flow measures derived from venous occlusion plethysmography. Measures were taken from the thumbnails of 11 male volunteers. A correlational analysis of sequential amplitude readings compared calibrated and uncalibrated values. Calibration failed to increase the sensitivity of the measures. Replicability of measurement was assessed by removing and replacing the device five times. A correlation of .87 suggested that the readings are replicable. Finally, the amplitude of the optical signal was correlated to concurrent flow measures. Only modest correlations were observed as computed across time within individuals or between individuals. The optical device does not appear to be a direct measure of flow as assessed by venous occlusion plethysmography, rather, it may be heavily influenced by the mechanical motion of the vessel wall.
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We would like to thank Charles Rakaczky and Donna Dow for their assistance in scoring the physiological signals and W. Winslow Westervelt for reading an initial draft of this paper.
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Sunderman, M.F., Jennings, J.R. LED-transistor optical vascular measure: Calibration, replicability, and comparability to strain-gauge measures. Behavior Research Methods & Instrumentation 15, 5–8 (1983). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03203430
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03203430