SPECMAR: fast heart rate estimation from PPG signal using a modified spectral subtraction scheme with composite...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Signal Processing

Background:

• Photoplethysmographic (PPG) signals are crucial for heart rate monitoring.
• Motion artifacts significantly degrade PPG signal quality, challenging accurate heart rate estimation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a fast and accurate algorithm for heart rate estimation from PPG signals.
• To effectively reduce motion artifacts in PPG signals for improved heart rate monitoring.

Main Methods:

• Proposed SPEctral subtraction scheme utilizing Composite Motion Artifacts Reference generation (SPECMAR) algorithm.
• Utilized two-channel PPG and three-axis accelerometer signals.
• Implemented preliminary noise reduction and a novel composite motion artifacts reference generation method.

Main Results:

• Achieved an average heart rate estimation error of 2.09 BPM on a public PPG database.
• Demonstrated a high Pearson correlation of 0.9907.
• The SPECMAR algorithm showed lower computational complexity and faster performance compared to existing methods.

Conclusions:

• SPECMAR effectively reduces noise and motion artifacts from PPG signals.
• The algorithm provides accurate, smooth, and fast heart rate tracking.
• SPECMAR is well-suited for implementation in wearable devices due to its efficiency and accuracy.