Accurate and Reliable Assessment of Heart Rate in Real-Life Clinical Settings Using an Imaging Photoplethysmography

Abstract

Remote photoplethysmography imaging (rPPGc) is a new method measuring essential parameters, such as heart rate (HR), which uses a video camera during teleconsultation. Our work aimed to evaluate the accuracy of such remote measurements compared with existing contact point measurement methods in real-life clinical settings. The prospective hospital-based study recruited 1045 patients who required a pulmonary function test. For each patient, measurements of HR using a standard electrocardiogram acquisition system (gold standard) were carried out concomitantly with the measurements made by the rPPGc system (Caducy v1.0.0) taken within a 60 s timeframe. Age, gender, and skin phototype were collected. We performed an intraclass coefficient correlation (ICC) and Bland–Altman plotting to determine the accuracy and precision of the rPPGc algorithm readings. We achieved measurement of HR using the two methods in 963 patients. The ICC measured at a 60 s timeframe, and when we compared the rPPGc with the gold standard, it had a 95% confidence interval (CI95) value of 0.886 [0.871:0.899]. In all, 94.6% (n = 911) patients showed promising results with a CI95 in Bland–Altman plotting. Fifty-two measurements were discordant, and further analysis established the method’s accuracy at 96.2%. Our results described a good accuracy and correlation between the rPPGc system and the gold standard, thus paving the way for more precise care via telemedicine.

Keywords

• heart rate
• remote photoplethysmography
• vital signs