Blood Volume Pulse Extraction Method of Heart Rate Estimation

Many informative signals are not visible to the naked eye. Hence to make these signals visible, the human eye requires an optical microscope. Eulerian Video Magnification (EVM), a computer microscope, magnifies these tiny informative signals and makes it suitable to extract significant information. EVM provides a non-contact and less expensive measurement of some of the vital parameters. In this study, blood volume pulse (BVP) is extracted using EVM algorithm and heart rate is estimated using BVP. Total 11 subjects of different age groups are included in this study. Samples are taken in a room with natural light during day time as well as after illuminating ambient light on face to observe the effect of light on measurement of heart rate. Obtained results are compared with readings taken using the MEDTECH OG05 pulse oximeter. The deviation in result is due to magnification of noise and small movement of subjects while capturing video. Hence the methods to reduce noise effect are also reviewed in this paper.