Camera-based spatial assessment of perfusion upon stimuli

Abstract

Imaging photoplethysmography allows to capture spatio-temporal patterns related to the perfusion. One such approach is based on the analysis of the time delay between pulse waves at different locations by so-called phase maps. There are different ways to establish such maps. However, neither a comparison between existing methods has been published nor has the impact of different stimuli been sufficiently examined until today. In this work, we compare three previously published approaches for the generation of phase maps and investigate the impact of two physiological stimuli on such maps. Our results show pairwise correlation coefficients between the different approaches of phase map generation from r = 0.65 to r = 0.82, indicating substantial differences between maps. The different maps reflect our physiological expectation in varying degrees. Particularly for a weaker (distant) stimulation refinements are needed to reveal characteristic changes.

Keywords

• imaging photoplethysmography
• camera
• cardiovascular
• perfusion
• phase maps