Camera-Based Remote Photoplethysmography for Physiological Monitoring in Neonatal Intensive Care

The ability to measure heart rate (HR) noninvasively is important in both a hospital and a home setting due to the role this vital sign plays in health and wellbeing. Despite great advancements and improvements in recent years, safety remains a challenging issue in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Traditional sensors found in the NICU incubators require adhesives and wires. The objective of this article was to develop a wireless, noncontact monitoring system that measures multiple physiological parameters in human faces from a distance using a camera and a single board computer. Experiments were conducted to estimate heart rate. The current practices of measuring HR involve collecting electrocardiogram (ECG) signals from adhesive electrodes placed on various parts of the body or using a pulse oximeter (PO) typically placed on the ear lobe or finger. We developed a monitoring system and compared its results to that from a PO. The monitoring system is low-cost at less than $200. The system has not been shown to exist in literature thus making it a novel implementation. In conclusion, we were able to estimate HR from a distance using a camera-based system. The developed system may have many useful applications, in both clinical and home health settings.