Day-to-day repeatability of the results of the finger-toe-plot analysis

Abstract

Non-invasive arterial pulse wave (PW) measurement provides valuable information on the vascular health. The aim of the study is to characterize the between-visit or day-to-day repeatability of combined finger and toe photoplethysmographic (PPG) signal analysis method called finger-toe plot (FT-plot) and compare it with the repeatability of other methods proposed for vascular characterization. Ten 22–36-year-old subjects were examined on 3 different days in order to find out the day-to-day repeatability of the results. The repeatability of the extracted parameters was analyzed by means of intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) and free-marginal multirater κ agreement. ICCs varied widely from below 0.2 to almost 0.9, but κ coefficients higher than 0.7 were achieved for most of the results. Based on the presented results, the FT-plot analysis has at least sufficient day-to-day repeatability. However, further studies with real patients and different stages of cardiovascular diseases are required for confirming the findings.