Pulse Heart Rate Research Articles

Survey on Health Monitoring of Elderly Using IoT

Most of the elderly citizens are either living by themselves or locked up at home when the family members go to work. Health of the elderly deteriorate gradually with age, but we fail to notice these changes in everyday life. The elderly are at a risk of not being attended immediately in case of emergencies. Internet of Things can be used to alert the family members and health personnel immediately when an abnormality in their health is sensed to prevent such emergencies. It can be used to detect abnormalities in the health condition by monitoring the parameters like heart pulse rate, body temperature, body movement and position, location and raise an alert to take immediate preventive actions. This approach has led to an evolution in the world of medicine. It allows for prognosis of diseases at a much earlier stage using this proactive paradigm compared to the existing retroactive diagnose-and-treat reactive paradigm. It also helps to personalize the treatment options available to meet the specific needs of the person. The early detection of abnormalities in the health condition can help in slowing down the progression of the condition and have everything under control. This article highlights the opportunities and challenges in utilizing the power of Internet of Things for remote healthcare of elderly and chronic patients.

Carditis as unrecognized extra-pulmonary complication of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection in adults: a case report

A 44 years old man admitted to the hospital with fever and sudden onset of severe oppressive chest pain localized in the left breast area, radiating to the left arm. Examination revealed blood pressure 120/80 mm Hg, respiratory rate 18/min, heart pulse rate 100 beats/min, oxygen saturation (SpO2) of 96—98 % on room air, flatness to percussion and presence of inspiratory crackles in the left basal area. EKG showed sinus tachycardia and non-specific alteration of repolarization in the anterolateral area of left ventricle. Troponin I and CK-MB, CRP and erythrosedimentation rate were considerably elevated. Chest radiograph performed at the admission revealed left basal consolidation with an effusion, suggesting pneumonia. On the basis of this data atypical pneumonia with cardiac complication was suspected and serum titers for respiratory viruses and atypical microorganism was performed. Antibodies (IgM) to M. pneumoniae were positive with high titer. Cardiac MRI was performed and showed tissue edema areas and multiple «late enhancement» myocardial areas on the anterolateral wall of left ventricle. Pneumonia and carditis due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae were successfully treated with clarithromycin 500 mg twice daily and ceftriaxone 2 g one daily for fifteen days.

Fusion of heart rate variability and pulse rate variability for emotion recognition using lagged poincare plots.

Designing an efficient automatic emotion recognition system based on physiological signals has attracted great interests within the research of human-machine interactions. This study was aimed to classify emotional responses by means of a simple dynamic signal processing technique and fusion frameworks. The electrocardiogram and finger pulse activity of 35 participants were recorded during rest condition and when subjects were listening to music intended to stimulate certain emotions. Four emotion categories, including happiness, sadness, peacefulness, and fear were chosen. Estimating heart rate variability (HRV) and pulse rate variability (PRV), 4 Poincare indices in 10 lags were extracted. The support vector machine classifier was used for emotion classification. Both feature level (FL) and decision level (DL) fusion schemes were examined. Significant differences have been observed between lag 1 Poincare plot indices and the other lagged measures. The mean accuracies of 84.1, 82.9, 79.68, and 76.05% were obtained for PRV, DL, FL, and HRV measures, respectively. However, DL outperformed others in discriminating sadness and peacefulness, using SD1 and total features, correspondingly. In both cases, the classification rates improved up to 92% (with the sensitivity of 95% and specificity of 83.33%). Totally, DL resulted in better performances compared to FL. In addition, the impact of the fusion rules on the classification performances has been confirmed.

Comparison between heart rate variability and pulse rate variability during different sleep stages for sleep apnea patients

The usefulness of heart rate variability (HRV) in the clinical research has been verified in numerous studies. However, it is controversy that using pulse rate variability (PRV) as a surrogate of HRV in different clinical applications. We aimed to investigate whether PRV extracted from finger pulse photoplethysmography (Pleth) signal could substitute HRV from ECG signal during different sleep stages by analyzing the common time-domain, frequency-domain and non-linear indices. Seventy-five sleep apnea patients were enrolled. For each patient, ECG and Pleth signals were simultaneously recorded for the whole night using Alice Sleepware Polysomnographic System and the sleep stage signals were automatically calculated by this System. Time-domain, frequency-domain and non-linear indices of both HRV and PRV were calculated for each sleep stage. Mann-Whitney U-test showed that for both time-domain and frequency-domain indices, there were no statistical differences between HRV and PRV results during all four sleep stages. For non-linear indices, sample entropy reported statistical differences between HRV and PRV results for N1, N2 and REM sleeps (all P< 0.01) whereas fuzzy measure entropy only reported statistical differences for REM sleep (P< 0.05). SDNN, LF and LF/HF indices decreased for both HRV and PRV with the sleep deepening while HF and non-linear indices increased. In addition, there were strong and significant correlation between HRV and PRV indices during all four sleep stages (all P< 0.01). PRV measurement could present the similar results as HRV analysis for sleep apnea patients during different sleep stages.

Comparison of endovascular hypothermia through hypothermic intravenous infusion device and conventional surface cooling in the treatment of patients with severe craniocerebral injury

Objective To observe the effect and safety of the endovascular hypothermia through hypothermic intravenous infusion device in the treatment of patients with severe craniocerebral injury compared with conventional surface cooling. Methods A total of 66 cases of patients with severe cranio-cerebral injury were randomly divided into the observation group and the control group with 33 cases in each group according to envelop randomization. The control group received surface cooling, and the observation group was given surface cooling plus endovascular hypothermia through hypothermic intravenous infusion device. The target temperature was 35 ℃ maintained for 3-5 days, and natural rewarming was applied at the speed of 0.1-0.5 ℃/h to 36.0-37.3 ℃. The time to reach target temperature, the constant stability, the incidence rate and severity of complication such as shiver, arrhythmia, skin injury and agitation were recorded and compared between two groups, as well as the heart rate, breathing rate, pulse rate, blood pressure and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores after 72 h of treatment. Glasgow Outcome Scale scores 30 days after treatment and nursing workload were also calculated and compared. Results The cooling speed, time to reach target temperature and the ability to maintain at 35 ℃ were (1.3±0.2) ℃/h, (2.3±0.2) h and (6.5±1.8)% in the observation group, respectively, compared with (0.5±0.1) ℃/h, (3.6±0.6) h and (11.3±2.2)% in the control group, which had significant differences (t=1.862, 2.112, 2.408, P < 0.05). The occurrence rates of shiver, arrhythmia, skin damage and dysphoria and restlessness in the observation group were 33.33% (11/33), 9.09% (3/33), 6.06% (2/33) and 27.27% (9/33), respectively, which were much lower than those in the control group 84.85% (28/33), 15.15% (5/33), 33.33% (11/33), 54.55% (18/33), χ2=1.764-2.733, P < 0.05. The heart rate, breathing rate, pulse rate, systolic blood pressure and GCS score after 72 h of treatment were (68.31±3.73) times/min, (16.60±1.52) times/min, (136.35±3.71) mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) , (34.61±1.05) ℃, (9.91±4.05) points in the observation group, while (58.31±3.62) times/min, (19.81±1.83) times/min, (150.66±2.70) mmHg, (35.65±1.36) ℃, (7.63±3.17) points in the control group, and there were significant differences between two groups (t=2.275-3.035, P < 0.05) .Besides, the ice-changing ice and turning-over time in the observation group were both remarkably reduced compared with control group, (14.03±3.11) min/h vs (38.12±2.70) min/h (t=3.356, P < 0.05), (15.08±3.07) min/h vs (26.16±2.54) min/h (t=3.021, P < 0.05). Patients with good recovery, mild disability, severe disability, death in the observation group were 16, 13, 3 and 1 case, while 6, 11, 9, 7 cases in the control group (χ2=2.351, P < 0.05). Conclusions The endovascular hypothermia through hypothermic intravenous infusion device can rapidly reduce and effectively maintain target temperature, reduce the incidence rate of complication, improve the vital signs and decrease the nursing workload in order to improve neurological outcome in the treatment of patients with severe craniocerebral injury. Key words: Craniocerebral trauma; Hypothermic intravenous infusion device; Endovascular hypothermia

Study and analysis of human mental stress detection using galvanic skin response and heart rate sensors in wired and wireless environments

It is an infeasible task for psychoanalysts to monitor the chronic mental stress of patients. Due to topical and innovative developments in wireless sensor technology and physiological sensors, researchers have been attracted to pursue research in wireless body area sensor networks (WBASN) or wireless body area networks (WBSN). As a result, the wireless sensor technology has enabled medical science in enhancing real-time health monitoring and maintaining a better healthcare scenario. In our previous work, the mental stress sensor presented was able to detect the stress condition based on the Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) only with an average accuracy of about 76%. In this article, a system has been presented for sensing human mental stress by acquisition, processing and analysing the GSR and heart rate or pulse rate signals from human body. This system is proficient in detection of the mental stress condition using the GSR and heart rate signals assimilated by wearable physiological sensors in wired or wireless environments. For evaluation of the system performance, well-known supervised binary classifiers have been selected for classifying the GSR and heart rate data from the physiological dataset available and the results are discussed. This multi-sensor stress detection system has average accuracy more than the previous stress detection system using GSR.

Comparative effect of treadmill and yoga on malondialdehyde level in normal young adults

Background: Stress level can be estimated by evaluating the malondialdehyde (MDA) levels produced from lipid peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Accordingly, a holistic health care approach (instead of a conventional drug-based approach alone) for the treatment is highly recommended; development of a mind-body medicine or an inclusive approach of mind-body interactions is the need of the hour. Thus, the effect of yoga which comprises pranayama, asana, and meditation is more relaxing than the well-equipped gym schools of today which are very lucrative and attractive, but they are costly means of fitness. Yogic exercises are more relaxing and cost effective. Aims and Objectives: The purpose of this study is to compare and see the effect of treadmill exercise and yoga on oxidative stress. Materials and Methods: An observational study was conducted in Exercise Physiology Laboratory, Department of Physiology (Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Sawangi Meghe, Wardha, Maharashtra, India). 50 male subjects of age group 18-20 years, were divided into two groups, treadmill exercise (Group A) and yoga (Group B) consisting of 25 each. On regular exercise, subjects were assessed at the start of and after 3 months of the training schedule (45 min/5 days/week). Blood samples were collected to assess the MDA levels before and after the intervention. The parameter assessed were vital parameters (heart rate and pulse rate), VO2 max; they were also assessed for their social and environmental behavior by WHO-quality of life questionnaire. Results were compared using Student paired t-test and unpaired t-test and age-wise distribution by Chi-square test. Result: Results showed that the pre-exercise levels of MDA in Group A (1.30 ± 0.1) and Group B (1.23 ± 0.1) and the postexercise levels in Group A (0.92 ± 0.2) and Group B (0.37 ± 0.2). There was an increase in the vital parameter in Group A, whereas no significant changes were observed in Group B. VO2max levels state that the oxygen requirement is more for Group A than Group B. Conclusion: The study concludes that yoga has more beneficial effect than the treadmill exercise which helps to decrease the free radical production.

Contactless Cardiac Activity Detection Based on Head Motion Magnification

The aim of this study is to remotely measure cardiac activity (heart pulse, total cycle length and pulse width) from videos based on a head motion at different positions of the head (front, back and side). As the head motion resulting from the cardiac cycle of blood from the heart to the head via the carotid arteries is not visible to the naked eye and to preserve the signal strength in the video, we used wavelet decomposition and a Chebychev filter to develop a standard Eulerian video magnification in terms of noise removal and execution time. We used both magnification systems to measure cardiac activity and statistically compare the results using Bland–Altman method. Also, we proposed a new video quality system based on fuzzy interface system to select which magnification system has better magnification quality and gives better results for the heart pulse rate. The experimental results on several videos captured from 10 healthy subjects show that the proposed contactless system of heart pulse has an accuracy of 98.3% when magnified video based on the developing magnification system was used and an accuracy of 97.4% when magnified video based on Eulerian magnification system was used instead. The proposed system has low computational complexity, making it suitable for advancing health care applications, mobile health applications and telemedicine.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ANTHROPOMETRIC DIMENSIONS OF MALE AND FEMALE AGRICULTURAL WORKERS IN SOUTH-EASTERN NIGERIA

A comparative analysis of the anthropometric body dimensions of the male and female agricultural workers was conducted in South-Eastern Nigeria to ascertain the variations that exist among the body characteristics/dimensions of the male and female agricultural workers in the area. Thirty (30) anthropometric dimensions considered useful in the design of the agricultural equipment alongside with the heart rate of the workers were studied. Male and female agricultural workers within the age limit of 20-60 years were used for the study. Results obtained revealed that male agricultural workers had greater body dimensions than the females except in the waist circumferences and hip breadths in which the male measured average of 81.1cm and 34.4cm respectively and the female recorded 88.7cm and 42.1cm at waist and hip regions respectively. The comparison further showed that male agricultural workers had average stature and body weight of 168.3cm and 65.9kg respectively with the 5th and 95th percentiles of 162.75cm and 175.77cm respectively in stature; and 60.15kg and 71.73kg in body weight respectively. While the female recorded mean stature and body weight of 163.2cm and 64.8kg respectively with the corresponding 5th and 95th percentiles of 153.96cm and 172.17cm respectively in stature and 60.04kg and 69.35kg respectively in body weight. The males had average heart (pulse) rate of 73.8 beats/min while the females had 70.5 beats/min. The comparison generally did not show much variations, which implies that implements/machine designed for the male workers could suit the female workers or might be adjusted to suit the female workers. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i1.31

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ANTHROPOMETRIC DIMENSIONS OF MALE AND FEMALE AGRICULTURAL WORKERS IN SOUTH-EASTERN NIGERIA

A comparative analysis of the anthropometric body dimensions of the male and female agricultural workers was conducted in South-Eastern Nigeria to ascertain the variations that exist among the body characteristics/dimensions of the male and female agricultural workers in the area. Thirty (30) anthropometric dimensions considered useful in the design of the agricultural equipment alongside with the heart rate of the workers were studied. Male and female agricultural workers within the age limit of 20-60 years were used for the study. Results obtained revealed that male agricultural workers had greater body dimensions than the females except in the waist circumferences and hip breadths in which the male measured average of 81.1cm and 34.4cm respectively and the female recorded 88.7cm and 42.1cm at waist and hip regions respectively. The comparison further showed that male agricultural workers had average stature and body weight of 168.3cm and 65.9kg respectively with the 5 th and 95 th percentiles of 162.75cm and 175.77cm respectively in stature; and 60.15kg and 71.73kg in body weight respectively. While the female recorded mean stature and body weight of 163.2cm and 64.8kg respectively with the corresponding 5 th and 95 th percentiles of 153.96cm and 172.17cm respectively in stature and 60.04kg and 69.35kg respectively in body weight. The males had average heart (pulse) rate of 73.8 beats/min while the females had 70.5 beats/min. The comparison generally did not show much variations, which implies that implements/machine designed for the male workers could suit the female workers or might be adjusted to suit the female workers. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i1.31

Potential beneficial effects of foot bathing on cardiac rhythm

Foot bathing therapy is a simple technique that induces sensations of comfort and relaxation. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of foot bathing therapy on heart rate variability (HRV) parameters in a healthy population. Participants were twenty healthy female subjects (median age=20.67 years, SD=1.04). The recording ECG was applied for 5 minutes before and for 5 minutes after foot bathing therapy of 10 minutes. Subjects rested for 10 minutes without recording ECG in order to stabilize autonomic parameters. The digital signals were then transferred to a laptop and analyzed using LabChart® software (MLS310/7 HRV Module). Almost all HRV parameters increased and heart (pulse) rate and LF/HF ratio decreased after foot bathing therapy compared with before foot bathing therapy. These results indicate for the first time in humans that foot bathing might induce a state of balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic systems and might be helpful to prevent possible cardiac arrhythmias.

Arduino based real time driver drowsiness detection and mobile alert system using bluetooth

The goal of this propose design is to detect drowsiness in drivers to prevent accidents and to improve safety on the highways. A method for detecting driver drowsiness/sleepiness is developed on Arduino microcontroller board based on Atmega328P for real-time monitoring. The readings taken from different sensors used in this project can be seen in an Android based mobile device. It has an MQ-2 alcohol gas sensor to detect alcohol, if consumed by the driver and a relay circuit to stop him from performing the drive if alcohol consumed. The output from the relay activates the GSM module which sends a message to the driver family. MPU-6050 Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System (MEMS) accelerometer to read the head nodding conditions combined with a gyroscope and a temperature sensor to know the temperature inside the vehicle. The system is also able to monitor the driver physiological conditions such as heart pulse rate, eye blink detection using pulse sensor and eye blink sensor respectively. The alarm will be activated when the driver has consumed alcohol or driver head nods frequently or heart pulse rate goes above the limit or when driver eyes get closed. The microcontroller communicates with the android mobile through HC-05 Bluetooth module connected on the board. The android mobile is provided with the facility to view continuous readings from the sensors connected to the system along with the warning status messages through an android software based application installed in the end device.

Data Processing of Physiological Sensor Data and Alarm Determination Utilising Activity Recognition

Current physiological sensors are passive and transmit sensed data to Monitoring centre (MC) through wireless body area network (WBAN) without processing data intelligently. We propose a solution to discern data requestors for prioritising and inferring data to reduce transactions and conserve battery power, which is important requirements of mobile health (mHealth). However, there is a problem for alarm determination without knowing the activity of the user. For example, 170 beats per minute of heart rate can be normal during exercising, however an alarm should be raised if this figure has been sensed during sleep. To solve this problem, we suggest utilising the existing activity recognition (AR) applications. Most of health related wearable devices include accelerometers along with physiological sensors. This paper presents a novel approach and solution to utilise physiological data with AR so that they can provide not only improved and efficient services such as alarm determination but also provide richer health information which may provide content for new markets as well as additional application services such as converged mobile health with aged care services. This has been verified by experimented tests and examples of using vital signs such as heart pulse rate, respiration rate and body temperature with a demonstrated outcome of AR accelerometer sensors integrated with an Android app.

Aromatherapy with Rosa Damascenes in Apnea, Bradycardia and Spo2 of Preterm Infants; a Randomized Clinical Trial

Background Apnea is one of the most common problems in preterm neonates. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of aromatherapy on the reduction of apnea, bradycardia, and Pulse Oximetry (SPO2) in premature infants. Materials and Methods In a clinical trial study, 60 preterm neonates randomly divided in two groups and exposed to aromatherapy with Rosa damascenes distillate or distilled water beside the routine treatment. In experimental group, two drops of 10% Rosa damascenes distillate was dropped on the pad eye in second day of birth at 6 Am. The intervention was repeated in 9 AM, 12 Am, 15 PM and 18 PM hours. A same condition applied for control group and distilled water was dropped on the pad eye. The number of apnea attacks, bradycardia and decrease in SpO2 compared between two groups using chi-square test, independent t-test and repeated measure test. Results The overall apnea attacks, bradycardia, and SPO2 in tree studied days were lower in intervention group than control group (0.47±0.13 vs. 2.6±0.41, 0.47±0.13 vs. 2.56±0.41 and 0.70±0.17 vs. 2.77±0.21, respectively). In addition, the repeated measurement test showed that the mean number of apnea attacks, decrease in heart pulse rate, and decrease in SpO2 was statistically lower in intervention group with aromatherapy than controls in first, second, third and sum of three days (P< 0.05). Conclusion Aromatherapy with Rosa damascenes distillate can reduce more and speedy the occurrence of apnea attacks, bradycardia and SPO2 in premature infants, along with other routine treatment.

Evaluation of Anxiety Induced Cardiovascular Response in known Hypertensive Patients Undergoing Exodontia - A Prospective Study.

Anxiety towards exodontic procedures is a common occurrence in dental practice. In hypertensive patients this anxiety induced stress may have an effect on cardiovascular system which may be clinically significant. To evaluate the cardiovascular changes in hypertensive patients that may manifest following anxiety induced stress in patients undergoing exodontic procedures under local anaesthesia. Eighty known hypertensive patients under medication reporting to Department of Oral and Maxillofacial surgery, Dayananda Sagar College of Dental Sciences Bangalore, Karnataka, India for extraction of teeth were taken up for the study. Anxiety was measured before local anaesthetic delivery using Amsterdam Pre-operative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS). Cardiovascular response data including blood pressure, heart rate, pulse rate, oxygen saturation and electrocardiographic changes were measured pre-operatively, immediately after local anaesthesia administration and Post-operatively at five, ten and fifteen minutes interval. Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare continuous variables before and after the injection of local anaesthesia including heart rate, pulse rate, oxygen saturation, and blood pressure. Repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyse the significance of changes in heart rate, pulse rate, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation over time between groups.Chi-square test was used to analyse the significance of electrocardiographic changes. The results revealed that the mean anxiety score before administration of local anaesthetic was 9.91(S.D ±2.9) with a range 4-20. Severe preoperative anxiety (<12) was associated with significantly increased heart rate, pulse rate, systolic blood pressure. At the pre-injection phase the mean values were systolic blood pressure (130.72±9.2), diastolic blood pressure (81.6±7.7), heart rate (72.7±11.9) and oxygen saturation (95.2±1.9). These values were increased immediately after local anaesthetic delivery and this relation was statistically significant for all parameters except oxygen saturation. Electrocardiographic abnormalities were found before and after injection of local anaesthetic (p>0.001). One patient showed right bundle branch block pattern. Dental anxiety impacts the effects of delivery of local anaesthesia on blood pressure, heart rate, pulse rate and electrocardiograph and is significantly associated with the increase in systolic blood pressure, heart rate, pulse rate and changes in electrocardiograph. Thus, present study supported that increased anxiety in hypertensive patients who underwent extraction is associated with cardiovascular changes.

Effect of Pulse Arrival Time Variability on the Difference between Heart Rate Variability and Pulse Rate Variability

Effect of Pulse Arrival Time Variability on the Difference between Heart Rate Variability and Pulse Rate Variability

The First 10 Years of Aerobic Exercise Responses to Long-Duration ISS Flights.

Aerobic deconditioning may occur during International Space Station (ISS) flights. This paper documents findings from exercise testing conducted before, during, and after ISS expeditions. There were 30 male and 7 female astronauts on ISS missions (48 to 219 d, mean 163 d) who performed cycle exercise protocols consisting of 5-min stages eliciting 25%, 50%, and 75% peak oxygen uptake (Vo(2peak)). Tests were conducted 30 to 90 d before missions, on flight day 15 and every 30 flight days thereafter, and on recovery (R) days +5 and +30. During pre- and postflight tests, heart rate (HR) and metabolic gas exchange were measured. During flight, extrapolation of the HR and Vo2 relationship to preflight-measured peak HR provided an estimate of Vo(2peak), referred to as the aerobic capacity index (ACI). HR during each exercise stage was elevated (P < 0.05) and oxygen pulse was reduced (P < 0.05) on R+5 compared to preflight; however, no other metabolic gas analysis values significantly changed. Compared to preflight, the ACI declined (P < 0.001) on R+5, but recovered to levels greater than preflight by R+30 (P = 0.008). During flight, ACI decreased below preflight values, but increased with mission duration (P < 0.001). Aerobic deconditioning likely occurs initially during flight, but ACI recovers toward preflight levels as flight duration increases, presumably due to performance of exercise countermeasures. Elevated HR and lowered oxygen pulse on R+5 likely results from some combination of relative hypovolemia, lowered cardiac stroke volume, reduced cardiac distensibility, and anemia, but recovery occurs by R+30.

A Bayesian approach for sleep and wake classification based on dynamic time warping method

Sleep plays a significant role in human’ smental and physical health. Recently, the associations between lack of sleep and weight gain, development of cancer and many other health problems have been recognized. Then monitoring the sleep and wake state all night is becoming a hotspot issue. Traditionally it classified by a PSG recording which is very costly and uncomfortable. Nowadays, with the advance of internet of things, many convenient wearable devices are being used for medical use, like measuring the heart rate (HR), blood pressure and other signals. With the sleep quality monitor problem, the key question is how to discriminate the sleep and weak stage from these signals. This paper proposed a Bayesian approach based on dynamic time warping (DTW) method for sleep and wake classification. It used HR and surplus pulse O2 (SPO2) signals to analyze the sleep states and the occurrence of some sleep-related problems. DTW is an algorithm that searches an optimal alignment between time series with scaling and shifting and Bayesian methods have been successfully used for object classification in many study. In this paper, a three-step process is used for sleep and wake classification. In the first step, the DTW is used to extract features of the original HR and SPO2 signals. Then a probabilistic model is introduced for using the Bayesian classification for uncertain data. And in the classification step, the DTW features are used as the training dataset in the Bayesian approach for sleep and wake classification. Finally, a case study form a real-word applications, collected from the website of the Sleep Heart Health Study, is presented to shown the feasibility and advantages of the DTW-based Bayesian approach.

Optical Fiber and its Biomedical Applications: Focusing on Human Heart/pulse Rate Sensing

This article focuses on the advantages that optical fiber sensors offer to the biomedical field, the basic working principles of optical fiber sensing, and discusses some examples of integrating different biological parameter fiber sensors on a single probe for Medical Applications. Here our main idea is to initially focus is on the human heart pulse rate monitoring, which includes different Hb-O2 concentration measurements in one heart beat, using two infrared light sources, and 1mm diameter multimode plastic optical fiber as a probe, a photodiode with spectral sensitivity ranging from 300nm1100nm wavelength of light and a open source Arduino Uno R3 interface board for the processing of the incoming signals.

On the benefits of alternative color spaces for noncontact heart rate measurements using standard red-green-blue cameras.

Existing video plethysmography methods use standard red-green-blue (sRGB) video recordings of the facial region to estimate heart pulse rate without making contact with the person being monitored. Methods achieving high estimation accuracy require considerable signal-processing power and result in significant processing latency. High processing power and latency are limiting factors when real-time pulse rate estimation is required or when the sensing platform has no access to high processing power. We investigate the use of alternative color spaces derived from sRGB video recordings as a fast light-weight alternative to pulse rate estimation. We consider seven color spaces and compare their performance with state-of-the-art algorithms that use independent component analysis. The comparison is performed over a dataset of 41 video recordings from subjects of varying skin tone and age. Results indicate that the hue channel provides better estimation accuracy using extremely low computation power and with practically no latency.