Devices that measure peripheral physiological activity have been used to diagnose clinical disorders, to monitor dynamic changes in physiology as a measure of autonomic regulation, and to explore how the body responds to a variety of environmental and psychological conditions. In a traditional psychophysiological research, arterial pulse rate and respiration are salient physiological signals that respond to behavioral, emotional, and cognitive challenges [1,2]. However, there are situations when direct contact measures are not possible or when direct measures will influence the participant's response. Further, there are situations where physiological parameters need to be monitored in real-time as opposed to extracted post hoc. Thus, a near real-time noncontact solution that provides continuous monitoring of these biosignals is presented.
The current study introduces off-the-shelf digital color video as a sensor that can be used to accurately extract human arterial pulse with sufficient precision to derive instantaneous heart rate...
