Evaluation of the relationship between Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and photoplethysmography signal

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is a common respiratory disease. The diagnosis of the disease is made by a specialist doctor according to the report given by the spirometer device, which is the gold standard method for diagnosis. This method can only be performed in hospitals with the help of a technician. However, monitoring of the disease after diagnosis is important to follow the damage that the disease inflicts on the body. That's why the portability of diagnostic systems is vital. As a solution to these problems, there is a need for a portable system alternative to the spirometer device. In the study, a photoplethysmographic signal was suggested for the diagnosis of the disease. In the study, feature extraction was performed on 26 time domain from the photoplethysmographic signal and these properties were analyzed by Mann-Whitney U Test. According to the results obtained, p < 0.05 for features 2–6, 10–21, 23, 26 and these features were found to be distinctive for the disease. According to the results of the study, it is thought that the photoplethysmography signal can be used in the diagnosis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.