Pulse Wave Analysis of Traditional Chinese Medicine Based on Hemodynamics Principles**

Pulse Wave Analysis of Traditional Chinese Medicine Based on Hemodynamics Principles**

Rui Guo, Yiqin Wang, Haixia Yan, Fufeng Li, Jianjun Yan, Zhaoxia Xu
Copyright: © 2011 |Pages: 10
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60960-064-8.ch017
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Abstract

From the perspective of hemodynamics principles, the pressure pulse wave marked in the radial artery is the comprehensive result of pulse wave propagation and reflection in the arterial conduit. The most common pulse charts (also called pulse wave) obtained by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) pulse-taking technique, if quantified and standardized, may become a universal and valuable diagnostic tool. The methods of feature extraction of TCM pulse charts currently involve time-domain analysis, frequency-domain analysis and time-frequency joint analysis. The feature parameters extracted by these methods have no definite clinical significance. Therefore, these feature parameters cannot essentially differentiate different types of TCM pulse. In this chapter, the harmonic analysis method was applied to analyze the common TCM pulse charts (plain pulse, wiry pulse, slippery pulse). Velocity and reflectivity coefficients of pulse were calculated. We found that wave velocities and reflection coefficients of different TCM pulse have different distributions. Furthermore, we studied the clinical significance of velocities and reflection coefficients. The result suggests that wave velocity and reflection coefficient are the feature parameters of TCM pulse with physiological and pathological significance, which can be used to interpret formation of Chinese medicine pulse. Our study reveals the mechanism of TCM pulse formation and promotes non-invasive TCM pulse diagnostic method.
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Hemodynamic Principle Basis Of Tcm Pulse Wave

In TCM, pulse refers to what the doctor senses by palpating the examinee’s radial artery with fingers. Diagnosis information is then extracted based on the association of the pulse with pathology and physiology. The sensed pulse pulsation originates from radial direction pulsation of radial artery (change of the semidiameter of blood vessel); whereas the blood pressure of arterial conduit represents the change of semidiameter of blood vessel as a function of time. Therefore, the detected changeable waveform of arterial conduit semidiameter could nearly match the waveform of blood pressure.

From hemodynamic standpoint, the pressure pulse wave generates when blood pass through the heart after heart contracts, then it transmits into the brachial artery and reach to radial artery. The reflected wave generates in brachial artery and radial artery. The pressure wave in radial artery is actually the integrative result of the pressure wave and reflected wave (Liu, 1982). In other words, the pressure pulse wave marked in the radial artery is a superposition of pressure pulse and reflected wave in the radial artery.

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