Remote plethysmographic imaging using ambient light

Abstract

Plethysmographic signals were measured remotely (> 1m) using ambient light and a simple consumer level digital camera in movie mode. Heart and respiration rates could be quantified up to several harmonics. Although the green channel featuring the strongest plethysmographic signal, corresponding to an absorption peak by (oxy-) hemoglobin, the red and blue channels also contained plethysmographic information. The results show that ambient light photo-plethysmography may be useful for medical purposes such as characterization of vascular skin lesions (e.g., port wine stains) and remote sensing of vital signs (e.g., heart and respiration rates) for triage or sports purposes.