What is BCG?
Ballistocardiography (BCG) is a non-invasive technique for creating a graphical representation of the heartbeat-induced repeated motions of the human body. These repeated motions happen due to the rapid acceleration of blood when it is ejected and moved in the great vessels of the body during periods of relaxation and contraction, known as diastole and systole, respectively. In other words, BCG can provide information about the overall performance of the circulatory system.
Ibrahim Sadek, Jit Biswas, Bessam Abdulrazak (2019) Ballistocardiogram signal processing: a review
Why BCG?
Typically, to be able to track heart and respiratory rates effectively a patient/user would need to be hooked up to medical devices, usually in a hospital environment.
As BCG technology is completely non-invasive, similar data can be collected at home in a more comfortable environment. As the user will be more relaxed, it also can alleviate any spikes in the data (for example increased heart rate through stress induced by being in hospital).
Similar to an ECG (echocardiogram) the data collected through a BCG can also be used to calculate heart rate variability (HRV); the variance between heartbeat intervals.
Analysing HRV can give you an idea of your heart health and how your body will react to physical and mental stresses.
Advantages of BCG Technology
An ECG is always the gold standard in measuring heart rate and HRV, which is why it is used in medical environments, but it is not viable to be used long term.
Studies into the technology and similar BCG devices have found that the results of BCG are comparable to an ECG machine.
Gaurav Parchani Gulshan Kumar Raghavendra Rao, Kaviraja Udupa, Vibhor Saran. Efficacy of Non-contact BallistocardiographySystem to Determine Heart Rate Variability
ECG is an uncomfortable and inconvenient method in home and care environments due to the use of the electrodes attached to the body with wires.
As BCG sensors are non-invasive and can be installed under other materials (like in the Langzhi Digital Care Devices) they allow for similar technology and data to be recorded in the comfort of your own home.
Due to the price of BCG technology being cheaper in comparison to medical grade ECG, it can also provide a cost-effective alternative for use in home devices.