A miniature fiber optic blood pressure sensor and its application in in vivo blood pressure measurements of a swine model

Fractional flow reserve (FFR) is a promising technique in diagnosis of coronary artery stenosis. The technique is applied in coronary catheterization to measure the blood pressure (BP) difference across a coronary artery stenosis in the blood flow. In vivo BP measurement is the key element in FFR diagnosis. This paper describes the utilizing of a novel miniature fiber optic sensor to measure the BP of a swine model in vivo. A 25–50 kg Yorkshire swine model was used as the test target. A guiding catheter was introduced into the coronary artery, and blood pressure signals in aortic arch and right coronary artery were measured by the fiber optic sensor. A standard invasive manometry was used as the reference. Finally, a 2.25 mm balloon was inflated in the catheter to simulate the stenosis and the BP drop was recorded by the fiber optic sensor. The experiment demonstrates that the reported fiber optic sensor has the capability of measuring blood pressure in vivo and can be used for FFR technique.