Accessible eHealth System for Heart Rate Estimation

Abstract

Nowadays, increase of medical infrastructure in Ecuador implies high monetary cost to acquire new medical technologies. Population longevity and the substantial increase in patients with chronic diseases (mostly cardiac nature) force them to maintain frequent contact with the medical system to make a continuous monitoring of their pathologies. In order to reduce the concurrence of people towards medical centers for a primary diagnosis about the state of their cardiovascular system an eHealth system to monitoring heart rate is proposed. This system is focused on the estimation of this vital sign, incorporates diagnostic assistance service and support for continuous care, using computational algorithms that allow, through the application of mathematical techniques for the blind source separation and diagonalization of own matrices, all of the above is subsequently synthesized within a reduced plate computer using as peripheral devices a webcam and an smartphone; to finally be compared in a set of 100 people using two commercial medical devices (pulse oximeter and digital tensiometer), obtaining satisfactory results in around 70% of the samples. An early diagnosis and a more effective treatment are important tools for planning and optimization of resources. The proposed system will benefit most of the population in several aspects, including people with limited access into the health care system through accessible technology aiming to eliminate geographical dependence using wide area network links.