Proposal for a method of non-restrictive measurement of resting heart rate in a lying position

Daily monitoring of heart rates is important in health management. Many researchers have analysed heart rate variability by using the resting heart rate because such an analysis can facilitate the early discovery of a variety of illnesses and health conditions. Some problems that arise in measuring heart rate are the feeling of confinement. Therefore, we required a system that could measure the resting heart rate in a static position in such a way that the subject is completely unaware that the measurement is being recorded. We propose a non-restrictive measurement method that uses only an acceleration sensor placed inside a down quilt. This method is easy for home use. The acceleration sensor was placed inside the quilt such that it was positioned opposite to the left-hand side of the subject's chest. Six healthy subjects were requested to lie in the supine position and were covered with the quilt equipped with the acceleration sensor. Mechanical vibrations that resulted from heart activity were carried through the quilt to the acceleration sensor. As a result, periodic vibrations were measured successfully, and in the six subjects, these vibrations were proved to be highly correlated with the R wave of electrocardiograms. The same results were obtained even when the subjects were lying in the left lateral position. The results indicated that our new method, which used an acceleration sensor placed inside a down quilt, was simple and could be used to measure the resting heart rate in a lying position.