Biometric Signals Estimation Using Single Photon Camera and Deep Learning

• Main Authors: Marco Paracchini, Marco Marcon, Federica Villa, Franco Zappa, Stefano Tubaro
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-10-01
• Series: Sensors
• Subjects: deep learning; heart rate; remote photoplethysmography; single-photon avalanche diode
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/21/6102

The problem of performing remote biomedical measurements using just a video stream of a subject face is called remote photoplethysmography (rPPG). The aim of this work is to propose a novel method able to perform rPPG using single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) cameras. These are extremely accurate cameras able to detect even a single photon and are already used in many other applications. Moreover, a novel method that mixes deep learning and traditional signal analysis is proposed in order to extract and study the pulse signal. Experimental results show that this system achieves accurate results in the estimation of biomedical information such as heart rate, respiration rate, and tachogram. Lastly, thanks to the adoption of the deep learning segmentation method and dependability checks, this method could be adopted in non-ideal working conditions—for example, in the presence of partial facial occlusions.