Unobtrusive Heart Rate Variability Monitoring with a Chair-Based Strain Gauge Ballistocardiography in Office and Home...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cardiovascular Physiology
• Wearable Technology

Background:

• Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is a crucial indicator of autonomic nervous system function and cardiovascular health.
• Traditional electrocardiography (ECG) for HRV assessment requires electrodes, limiting its use in daily environments.
• There is a need for non-invasive, unobtrusive methods for continuous HRV monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a chair-based Ballistocardiography (BCG) system for unobtrusive heart rate (HR) and HRV assessment.
• To compare the accuracy of BCG-derived HRV metrics against gold-standard ECG measurements.
• To evaluate the system's potential for real-world wellness and stress monitoring.

Main Methods:

• A custom chair equipped with strain gauge sensors was designed to capture cardiac-induced mechanical forces.
• Simultaneous ECG and BCG data were collected from 20 healthy participants.
• Time-domain, frequency-domain, and nonlinear HRV metrics were calculated and compared between the two methods.

Main Results:

• BCG-derived HRV metrics demonstrated a high correlation (r > 0.97) with ECG-derived metrics, showing minimal bias.
• The system accurately distinguished HRV patterns between physically active and inactive states.
• The chair-based BCG system proved effective in capturing HRV variations.

Conclusions:

• A chair-based BCG system is a practical and unobtrusive alternative for continuous HRV monitoring.
• This technology holds promise for widespread application in wellness and stress assessment.
• Future research should focus on motion artifact correction and clinical validation.