Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 10, 2025

Anesthesia-free Heartbeat Measurements in Freely Moving Zebrafish
Published on: April 18, 2025
A Model to Predict Heartbeat Rate Using Deep Learning Algorithms
Ahmed Alsheikhy1, Yahia F Said1, Tawfeeq Shawly2
1Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering, Northern Border University, Arar 91431, Saudi Arabia.
Insights
This study introduces a touchless method using deep learning and video analysis to accurately estimate heart rate by analyzing reflected light on the skin, offering a contactless solution for healthcare. The innovative approach achieves high accuracy, aiding physicians in clinical settings.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare
- Cardiovascular Monitoring
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated contactless health monitoring solutions.
- Traditional electrocardiography (ECG) requires physical contact, posing challenges during pandemics.
- There is a need for non-invasive methods to assess cardiac function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a dependable, touchless technique for estimating heart rate using reflected light from the skin.
- To leverage deep learning models for accurate heart rate detection from video streams.
- To validate the proposed method's performance against established metrics.
Main Methods:
- Utilized deep learning models including AlexNet, Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), Long Short-Term Memory Networks (LSTMs), and ResNet50V2.
- Processed video streams by converting them into frames and images for analysis.
- Conducted trials on volunteers to assess accuracy, Mean Absolute Error (MAE), and Mean Squared Error (MSE).
Main Results:
- Achieved an average accuracy of 99.78% when combining LSTMs and ResNet50V2.
- Reported a Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 0.142 and Mean Squared Error (MSE) of 1.82.
- Demonstrated superior performance compared to existing literature methods in terms of MAE and MSE.
Conclusions:
- The developed touchless heart rate estimation method is viable and accurate.
- The algorithm shows significant potential for application in healthcare facilities, assisting physicians.
- This contactless approach addresses public health concerns while enabling effective cardiac monitoring.
Abstract:
ECG provides critical information in a waveform about the heart's condition. This information is crucial to physicians as it is the first thing to be performed by cardiologists. When COVID-19 spread globally and became a pandemic, the government of Saudi Arabia placed various restrictions and guidelines to protect and save citizens and residents. One of these restrictions was preventing individuals from touching any surface in public and private places. In addition, the authorities placed a mandatory rule in all public facilities and the private sector to evaluate the temperature of individuals before entering. Thus, the idea of this study stems from the need to have a touchless technique to determine heartbeat rate. This article proposes a viable and dependable method to estimate an average heartbeat rate based on the reflected light on the skin. This model uses various deep learning tools, including AlexNet, Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), Long Short-Term Memory Networks (LSTMs), and ResNet50V2. Three scenarios have been conducted to evaluate and validate the presented model. In addition, the proposed approach takes its inputs from video streams and converts these streams into frames and images. Numerous trials have been conducted on volunteers to validate the method and assess its outputs in terms of accuracy, mean absolute error (MAE), and mean squared error (MSE). The proposed model achieves an average 99.78% accuracy, MAE is 0.142 when combing LSTMs and ResNet50V2, while MSE is 1.82. Moreover, a comparative measurement between the presented algorithm and some studies from the literature based on utilized methods, MAE, and MSE are performed. The achieved outcomes reveal that the developed technique surpasses other methods. Moreover, the findings show that this algorithm can be applied in healthcare facilities and aid physicians.
Related Concept Videos
Factors Influencing Heart Rate
Let us explore the significant factors affecting heart rate, including age, body temperature, posture, acute pain, chemical influences,...
Regulation of Heart Rates
The SNS increases heart rate through the release of norepinephrine and epinephrine, which act on beta-1 adrenergic receptors in the heart. This action increases the rate of depolarization in the sinoatrial (SA) node, the heart's...
Neural Regulation of Blood Pressure
Baroreceptor Reflex
Baroreceptors, located in the carotid sinuses and aortic arch, detect changes in blood pressure. When blood pressure rises, these stretch-sensitive receptors...

