Ballistocardiography: past, present and future.

In this paper, an analysis is given of the present state of ballistocardiography. It is concluded that several aspects of the method have to be improved before successful application in medicine can follow. These aspects are, for example, (a) physiological backgrounds of the method, and (b) signal analysis of the ballistocardiogram. Recent developments on these items are discussed and some preliminary results are given. Research on ballistocardiography is worthwhile to be continuing, since the method offers good perspectives for application in preventive medicine (early detection of coronary heart disease) and in clinical medicine.