Heart rate measurement based on a time-lapse image

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medengphy.2006.09.006Get rights and content

Abstract

Using a time-lapse image acquired from a CCD camera, we developed a non-contact and non-invasive device, which could measure both the respiratory and pulse rate simultaneously. The time-lapse image of a part of the subject's skin was consecutively captured, and the changes in the average image brightness of the region of interest (ROI) were measured for 30 s. The brightness data were processed by a series of operations of interpolation as follows a first-order derivative, a low pass filter of 2 Hz, and a sixth-order auto-regressive (AR) spectral analysis. Fourteen sound and healthy female subjects (22–27 years of age) participated in the experiments. Each subject was told to keep a relaxed seating posture with no physical restriction. At the same time, heart rate was measured by a pulse oximeter and respiratory rate was measured by a thermistor placed at the external naris. Using AR spectral analysis, two clear peaks could be detected at approximately 0.3 and 1.2 Hz. The peaks were thought to correspond to the respiratory rate and the heart rate. Correlation coefficients of 0.90 and 0.93 were obtained for the measurement of heart rate and respiratory rate, respectively.

Introduction

Various technologies using non-contact, non-invasiveness, and ambulatory methods have been studied and developed for biomedical measurement. X-ray computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are typical examples of the non-contact method for collecting anatomical information. Research studies using non-contact measurement have continued for some years, such as measurement of brain activity by near-infrared radiation [1] and detection and evaluation of a wound and ischemic tissue by non-contact electric impedance measurement [2]. Chen et al. also measured the breathing and heartbeat signals of human subjects buried under earthquake rubble by using a microwave beam [3]. Optical methods are also widely used for non-contact measurement. For example, Sinko et al. evaluated the spine shape by using Moiré topography [4]. Matsui et al. monitored heart rate and respiration rate using laser irradiation by fast Fourier transform [5], [6], and Augousti et al. measured respiratory and cardiac function by using optical fibers [7].

Because measurement of circulatory or musculoskeletal parameters can be principally invasive, attempts have been made to develop bloodless, painless, and less invasive methods by using ultrasound techniques such as diagnosis of fetal anemia [8] or arterial occlusive disease [9] by the Doppler ultrasound method, measurement of large sudden pressure drops seen in hypovolemia based on pulse wave transit time [10], measurement of bone deformation by echo tracking [11], and tendon force measurement by analyzing the transmission of ultrasonic waves [12]. In addition to these studies using ultrasound techniques, electrocardiography and photoplethysmography can be used for the non-invasive evaluation of blood pressure [13] and the detection of vascular disease [14], respectively.

For measurement of normal activities, various ambulatory methods have been developed by minimizing the monitoring devices. Typical examples are the Holter monitor and the pedometer [15]. de Lusignan et al. developed a wireless data collection system by using small sensors placed on the chest and recorded heart and breath rate, blood pressure, the electrocardiogram, and body temperature [16]. Gramse et al. mounted dry ECG electrodes as well as capacity-based elastic strain gauges on infant pajamas and monitored cardiopulmonary parameters [17]. Chen et al. also installed an air-free water-filled tube sensor under the pillow and monitored heart and breath rate during sleep by measuring the pressure under the near- and far-neck occiput [18]. Regarding the measurement of gait parameters, Veltink et al. proposed the use of two six-degrees-of-freedom force and moment sensors mounted in the shoe sole [19]. Since worldwide ageing of societies has been rapidly going on for some years, the ambulatory methods above could be useful for the health care of the elderly.

In recent years, there has been a trend in the development of non-contact instrumentation by combining a handy imager, or the CCD, and highly advanced PC technologies. A typical example is kinematics measurement by using the VICON system [20]. In addition, motion analysis of neonates in incubators by motion tracking [21], analysis of visual-gestural language using video cameras [22], and automatic recognition of facial expression [23] have been conducted. Furthermore, trials have been carried out to extract physiological parameters from the obtained kinematics data. Nakajima et al. [24] recorded the real-time image sequence of a subject in bed and measured the respiratory rate based on postural change. Cala et al. estimated lung volume using chest wall motion data acquired by reflective markers places on the body surface [25]. We also applied these image technologies and developed a new non-contact measuring method, which could collect heart and respiratory rate simultaneously.

Section snippets

System configuration

Analogue images from a CCD camera (Network Handycam IP, Sony Corp., Japan) were acquired through a picture board (PX500, Image Nation, USA) and stored in a PC (GP7-500, Gateway Corp., Windows NT). Using the timer function of Visual Basic (VB), the time-lapse image of a part of the subject's skin was consecutively captured, and the changes in the average image brightness of the region of interest (ROI) were measured using image-processing software (X Caliper, Optimas Corp., USA), which is

Results

Fig. 2 shows a typical example of the heart rate measurement by time-lapse imaging. Fig. 2(a) shows the changes in the average image brightness in the ROI regulated with spline interpolation. Two kinds of waves, which are considered to be caused by respiration and heart beat, were observed. Fig. 2(b)–(d) shows the results of the process of the first-order differentiation, low pass filter, and AR spectral analysis, respectively. As shown in Fig. 2(d), two peaks could be clearly detected at

Discussion

In this study, we developed a new device by combining a time-lapse image from a handy video camera and image processing on a PC, and found that it could measure the 30-s average heart and respiratory rates based on the changes in the brightness of the ROI set around the cheek of the unrestricted subject. Regarding the mechanism of the respiratory measurement, the cheek skin moved due to the respiratory motion of the upper thorax, which varied the brightness of the ROI. The same mechanism might

Conclusion

In this study, we found that the simultaneous measurement of both respiratory and pulse rate was possible by acquiring the time-lapse image of a subject's face for 30 s and examining the image brightness in the ROI by AR spectral analysis. Through calibration experiments with a thermistor and a pulse oximeter, correlation coefficients of 0.93 and 0.90 were obtained for respiratory and pulse rate measurements, respectively. With the attractive features of ambulatory and non-contact monitoring,

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a grant from Konica Minolta Imaging Science Foundation. The author (CT) is deeply grateful to Yushi ODASHIMA, Emeritus Professor of Tokyo University, for review of the manuscript and a lot of encouragement.

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