Max Pulse
Max Pulse is a 3 minute non-invasive test, FDA Approved, Class II medical device that uses a pulse oximeter on your fingertip to detect and interpret the arterial pulse wave. This information is interpreted using a sophisticated software program which generates an easy-to-interpret result sheets showing your arterial health and flexibility along with a detailed analysis of your autonomic nervous system and stress/fatigue levels. This process of examining the arterial pulse wave is called “pulse wave analysis”.
The Max Pulse test is non-invasive and uses a photoelectric clip on the fingertip. By measuring the blood at the fingertip, the Max Pulse can graph the heartbeat as it moves through systolic and diastolic. When a person’s arteries are flexible, the pressure at the fingertip has specific deviations as the arteries flex. If the person’s arteries are very stiff, the graph becomes very tight and regular. The machine performs an analysis of the arterial pulse wave by using a very sophisticated algorithm to track variations in the graph that are not visible to the naked eye and then interprets those results against a large body of research. The result is an assessment of arterial hardening that is very accurate.
The Max Pulse will show you in just 1 minute if the recipient is suffering from arterial wall stiffness and gives you an accurate estimate of the biological age of the arteries. The simple finger clip is non-invasive and the test is very simple to administer. The Arterial Stiffness Test shows the degree of plaque buildup in the arteries and resultant arterial hardening. The test will also indicate early-stage congestive heart failure or heart weakening if present. It can do this long before the patient becomes symptomatic. This is crucial in diabetic patients and for patients with high blood pressure or elevated lipids.
The Stress Test uses heart rate variability to show the state of the autonomic nervous system. This shows clearly if someone is over-stressed or over-fatigued and also has an important bar graph that shows how well the person is withstanding his or her stress levels.
The information that you get from both reports allows you to get started on an appropriate program to address any issues before things develop into something more serious.
Photoplethysmography has been used for a long time. A simple pulse oximeter will measure the arterial pulse wave and the deviations between young healthy arteries and very advanced CVD is actually visible right there on the pulse ox. But that is not enough for clinical use. What makes the Max Pulse different is the more complex pulse wave analysis that our algorithm performs, reformatting the arterial pulse wave graph and pulling very detailed information. Multiple peer-reviewed studies have shown this technique to be effective when compared to more traditional and time-consuming methods of detecting cardiovascular disorders. Our machine takes the arterial pulse wave and interprets it using something called Accelerated Photoplethysmography (APG) which allows us to pull very precise information from the waveform.