Benchmarking of Sensor Configurations and Measurement Sites for Out-of-the-Lab Photoplethysmography
Photoplethysmography (PPG) is used for heart-rate monitoring in a variety of contexts and applications due to its versatility and simplicity. These applications, namely studies involving PPG data acquisition during day-to-day activities, require reliable and continuous measurements, which are often...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-12-01
|
| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/1/214 |
| _version_ | 1797358140388278272 |
|---|---|
| author | Max Nobre Supelnic Afonso Fortes Ferreira Patrícia Justo Bota Luís Brás-Rosário Hugo Plácido da Silva |
| author_facet | Max Nobre Supelnic Afonso Fortes Ferreira Patrícia Justo Bota Luís Brás-Rosário Hugo Plácido da Silva |
| author_sort | Max Nobre Supelnic |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Photoplethysmography (PPG) is used for heart-rate monitoring in a variety of contexts and applications due to its versatility and simplicity. These applications, namely studies involving PPG data acquisition during day-to-day activities, require reliable and continuous measurements, which are often performed at the index finger or wrist. However, some PPG sensors are susceptible to saturation, motion artifacts, and discomfort upon their use. In this paper, an off-the-shelf PPG sensor was benchmarked and modified to improve signal saturation. Moreover, this paper explores the feasibility of using an optimized sensor in the lower limb as an alternative measurement site. Data were collected from 28 subjects with ages ranging from 18 to 59 years. To validate the sensors’ performance, signal saturation and quality, wave morphology, performance of automatic systolic peak detection, and heart-rate estimation, were compared. For the upper and lower limb locations, the index finger and the first toe were used as reference locations, respectively. Lowering the amplification stage of the PPG sensor resulted in a significant reduction in signal saturation, from 18% to 0.5%. Systolic peak detection at rest using an automatic algorithm showed a sensitivity and precision of 0.99 each. The posterior wrist and upper arm showed pulse wave morphology correlations of 0.93 and 0.92, respectively. For these locations, peak detection sensitivity and precision were 0.95, 0.94 and 0.89, 0.89, respectively. Overall, the adjusted PPG sensors are a good alternative for obtaining high-quality signals at the fingertips, and for new measurement sites, the posterior pulse and the upper arm allow for high-quality signal extraction. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:57:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9b0f2fa9f6a947eaacc6583520969b3f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:57:33Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-9b0f2fa9f6a947eaacc6583520969b3f2024-01-10T15:09:04ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202023-12-0124121410.3390/s24010214Benchmarking of Sensor Configurations and Measurement Sites for Out-of-the-Lab PhotoplethysmographyMax Nobre Supelnic0Afonso Fortes Ferreira1Patrícia Justo Bota2Luís Brás-Rosário3Hugo Plácido da Silva4Department of Bioengineering (DBE), Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), 1049-001 Lisbon, PortugalInstituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores—Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias (INESC MN), 1000-029 Lisbon, PortugalDepartment of Bioengineering (DBE), Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), 1049-001 Lisbon, PortugalCardiology Department, Santa Maria University Hospital (CHLN), Lisbon Academic Medical Centre, 1649-028 Lisbon, PortugalDepartment of Bioengineering (DBE), Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), 1049-001 Lisbon, PortugalPhotoplethysmography (PPG) is used for heart-rate monitoring in a variety of contexts and applications due to its versatility and simplicity. These applications, namely studies involving PPG data acquisition during day-to-day activities, require reliable and continuous measurements, which are often performed at the index finger or wrist. However, some PPG sensors are susceptible to saturation, motion artifacts, and discomfort upon their use. In this paper, an off-the-shelf PPG sensor was benchmarked and modified to improve signal saturation. Moreover, this paper explores the feasibility of using an optimized sensor in the lower limb as an alternative measurement site. Data were collected from 28 subjects with ages ranging from 18 to 59 years. To validate the sensors’ performance, signal saturation and quality, wave morphology, performance of automatic systolic peak detection, and heart-rate estimation, were compared. For the upper and lower limb locations, the index finger and the first toe were used as reference locations, respectively. Lowering the amplification stage of the PPG sensor resulted in a significant reduction in signal saturation, from 18% to 0.5%. Systolic peak detection at rest using an automatic algorithm showed a sensitivity and precision of 0.99 each. The posterior wrist and upper arm showed pulse wave morphology correlations of 0.93 and 0.92, respectively. For these locations, peak detection sensitivity and precision were 0.95, 0.94 and 0.89, 0.89, respectively. Overall, the adjusted PPG sensors are a good alternative for obtaining high-quality signals at the fingertips, and for new measurement sites, the posterior pulse and the upper arm allow for high-quality signal extraction.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/1/214photoplethysmographysaturationwave morphologyheart ratepeak detectionmeasurement sites |
| spellingShingle | Max Nobre Supelnic Afonso Fortes Ferreira Patrícia Justo Bota Luís Brás-Rosário Hugo Plácido da Silva Benchmarking of Sensor Configurations and Measurement Sites for Out-of-the-Lab Photoplethysmography Sensors photoplethysmography saturation wave morphology heart rate peak detection measurement sites |
| title | Benchmarking of Sensor Configurations and Measurement Sites for Out-of-the-Lab Photoplethysmography |
| title_full | Benchmarking of Sensor Configurations and Measurement Sites for Out-of-the-Lab Photoplethysmography |
| title_fullStr | Benchmarking of Sensor Configurations and Measurement Sites for Out-of-the-Lab Photoplethysmography |
| title_full_unstemmed | Benchmarking of Sensor Configurations and Measurement Sites for Out-of-the-Lab Photoplethysmography |
| title_short | Benchmarking of Sensor Configurations and Measurement Sites for Out-of-the-Lab Photoplethysmography |
| title_sort | benchmarking of sensor configurations and measurement sites for out of the lab photoplethysmography |
| topic | photoplethysmography saturation wave morphology heart rate peak detection measurement sites |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/1/214 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT maxnobresupelnic benchmarkingofsensorconfigurationsandmeasurementsitesforoutofthelabphotoplethysmography AT afonsofortesferreira benchmarkingofsensorconfigurationsandmeasurementsitesforoutofthelabphotoplethysmography AT patriciajustobota benchmarkingofsensorconfigurationsandmeasurementsitesforoutofthelabphotoplethysmography AT luisbrasrosario benchmarkingofsensorconfigurationsandmeasurementsitesforoutofthelabphotoplethysmography AT hugoplacidodasilva benchmarkingofsensorconfigurationsandmeasurementsitesforoutofthelabphotoplethysmography |