Adaptive physiology-informed correction for reliable remote photoplethysmography heart-rate monitoring

Contactless heart rate (HR) monitoring demonstrates significant potential for mobile health and telemedicine, but current remote photoplethysmography (rPPG) approaches remain vulnerable to various noise sources. While existing research has emphasized signal-level enhancement, correcting erroneous HR estimates remains underexplored. We present a plug-and-play adaptive correction algorithm that leverages cardiac dynamics constraints, adjusting HR estimates based on physiological priors of HR elevation and recovery. By mapping HR frequencies to indices and applying adaptive corrections, our method significantly reduces measurement errors with minimal computational load, even under challenging conditions. Across three public datasets, the algorithm increased the proportion of accurate measurements (mean absolute error ≤ 10 beats per minute) from 46.26% to 84.14% (LGI-PPGI), 48.03% to 69.21% (BUAA-MIHR), and 92.22% to 96.67% (UBFC-rPPG), outperforming existing correction techniques. The lightweight design facilitates seamless edge-side integration, providing a scalable solution for enhancing the reliability of contactless HR monitoring in mobile and remote healthcare settings.