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Signal Quality and Reliability of Heart Rate Measurement Using Simultaneous PPG and Inertial Data in Healthy Adults
Katrin Hainzl1, Amr Negm1, Eva Schweighofer1
1University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt, Wiener Neustadt, Austria.
Background:
Reliable estimation of heart rate and beat-to-beat intervals is essential for cardiovascular monitoring. Smartphone sensors such as photoplethysmography (PPG) and inertial measurement units (IMUs) offer accessible measurement possibilities, but their reliability depends on acquisition conditions.
Methods:
In this observational pilot study, simultaneous PPG and accelerometer signals were recorded using smartphones across three acquisition configurations: single-device supine (M1), single-device seated (M2), and synchronized dual-device recordings (M3). RR intervals were derived using identical filtering and peak detection pipelines.
Results:
Agreement between accelerometer- and PPG-derived RR intervals differed significantly between configurations (Kruskal-Wallis H = 15.98, p < .001). The dual-device configuration showed lower median RR agreement error (38.33 ms) compared to single-device setups (median 107 ms).
Conclusion:
Acquisition configuration substantially influences agreement of smartphone-derived RR intervals. These findings highlight the importance of standardized acquisition setups for reliable smartphone-based cardiac monitoring.
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