Non-Contact Type Pulse Oximeter

Heart rate and through-body blood perfusion are vital measurements in all stages of patient care, be it predictive, in the clinical setting, or outpatient monitoring. Irregular, underachieving, or overperforming heart rate is the main precursor of most cardiovascular diseases that have severe long-term complications. In addition to heart rate, the shape of the pulse waveforms can indicate the heart's valve health and electrophysiology health. The goal of the study was to design a noninvasive device for continuously measuring a patient's heart rate with clinical-grade accuracy along with the ability to indicate pulse waveforms for the patient and physician. An accurate, easy-to-use heart-rate measuring device prototype was developed that did not require the sensor to have direct skin contact to obtain measurements. The statistical analysis of the data gathered by the prototype compared to the data collected from the industry standard device indicated significant correlation. The two-sample T-test for the data recorded from the prototype and the data collected from the industry commercially available pulse oximeter showed a P-value of 0.521, which indicates that there was no significant difference between the prototype and the commercially available pulse oximeter when measuring heart rate.