Objective Measurement of Peripheral Edema as Symptomatic of Congestive Heart Failure

Abstract

Congestive heart failure is a type of cardiovascular disease that is often accompanied by excess fluid buildup in tissue, causing swelling of the extremities, known as peripheral edema. Assessing the severity level of pitting, or indentation, in peripheral edema can potentially provide insights about one's heart condition. When clinicians use digital manipulation to assess severity, the measurements are subjective. Objectifying measurements requires standardization so the severity score reported is both reliable and consistent across providers. The HeartSMART system was developed to calculate the level of peripheral edema via four factors: the depth (displacement) of the skin, the force exerted on the skin, the surface temperature of the skin, and body weight. The specific aim of this project was to begin the process for developing an algorithm that could provide an overall standardized edema score based on these four parameters obtained from the HeartSMART system. Using the recorded force and displacement measurements from participants with varying levels of edema, we fit the collected data to a derivation of the standard linear sold model in order to establish edematous tissue properties. Additionally through clinical testing, we identified improvement opportunities to the device design to make it more user friendly.