Assessment of instantaneous cardiovascular dynamics from video plethysmography

Although there is growing interest in estimating cardiovascular information using contactless video plethysmography (VP), an in-depth validation of time-varying, nonlinear dynamics of the related pulse rate variability is still missing. In this study we estimate the heartbeat through VP and standard ECG, and employ inhomogeneous point-process nonlinear models to assess instantaneous heart rate variability measures defined in the time, frequency, and bispectral domains. Experimental data were gathered from 60 young healthy subjects (age: 24±3 years) undergoing postural changes (rest-to-stand maneuver). Video recordings are processed using our recently proposed method based on zero-phase component analysis. Results show that, at a group level, there is an overall agreement between linear and nonlinear indices computed from ECG and VP during resting state conditions. However, significant differences are found, especially in the bispectral domain, when considering data gathered while standing. Although significant differences exist between cardiovascular estimates from VP and ECG, results can be considered very promising as instantaneous sympatho-vagal changes were correctly identified. More research is indeed needed to improve on the precise estimation of nonlinear sympatho-vagal interactions.