Abstract: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of global mortality, necessitating reliable methods for early detection of cardiac abnormalities. The jugular venous pulse (JVP) waveform provides valuable clinical information for diagnosing conditions such as pulmonary hypertension, tricuspid valve disease, and pericardial diseases. However, the gold-standard method for JVP assessment, central venous catheterization, is invasive and limited to critical care settings. Existing non-invasive techniques are limited by inadequate temporal resolution, operator dependence, and the lack of reliable methods for continuous JVP assessment. This thesis presents the development and validation of systems and methods for jugular venous hemodynamic assessment.

A single-element ultrasound system was developed for high-fidelity JVP waveform acquisition and validated against a clinical ultrasound imaging system in 65 healthy participants, demonstrating strong agreement in JVP diameter measurements (Dmax: r = 0.93, Dmin: r = 0.86, p < 0.001), with beat-to-beat variation less than 8%. Automated algorithms for JVP contour feature identification achieved a feature detection rate of 97%, compared with 80% using the reference. Wearable piezoelectric and accelerometer-based sensing systems were developed for continuous JVP monitoring, demonstrating strong agreement with the ultrasound reference (r = 0.90 and 0.84, respectively). An applanation-based calibration technique was developed and validated (N=35) for continuous estimation of absolute JVP pressure, demonstrating strong inter-trial repeatability (ICC = 0.96) and reliably capturing changes in JVP pressure during postural intervention.

A dual-element ultrasound system was developed for non-invasive estimation of venous pulse wave velocity (vPWV). Fourteen two-point pulse transit time methods were evaluated across 40 participants, yielding vPWV estimates of 1.01–1.80 m/s. The instrumentation systems and methods developed in this thesis establish a comprehensive framework for jugular venous hemodynamic assessment, enabling early screening and monitoring of cardiovascular diseases.

Event Details
Title: Instrumentation and Methods for Jugular Venous Hemodynamic Assessment (PhD Viva Voce)
Date: July 09, 2026 at 02:00 PM
Venue: Google Meet (https://meet.google.com/nwd-wnxs-yyp)
Speaker: Ms. Navya Rose George (EE20D014)
Guide: Dr. Jayaraj Joseph
Type: PHD seminar

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