The following post is about how I developed an application named Smart Vitals, originally utilizing MATLAB and launching in Python, that aims to empower all consumers to measure their own vital signs if they sense something is wrong.
The Problem – Doctor’s and Nurses are the only people prepared to take your vitals.
Patients often have to wait until they go to the doctor’s office to get their vitals read. While Apple Watches and various devices make it easy to take your vitals at home, this still creates a barrier for those of lower socioeconomic status.
It goes without question that vital signs are an important part of patient care. Vitals are often the first readings done during your medical visit and often determine:
– Treatment protocols to follow.
– Provide critical information needed to make life saving decisions.
– Confirm feedback on treatments performed.
Camera Vitals- My Solution
We are able to break this barrier by using smartphone devices to calculate vital signs using its native camera hardware and without the need for any application download. According to Statista, roughly 67% of households with an income of < $30,000 own a smartphone in the United States.
The camera will record and send a video of the patients finger to a remote server. It will then be processed through MATLAB to analyze several frequencies and ultimately return to the user: a heart rate, respiration and temperature estimation reading (based on various studies). You can find a video of this outlined solution here.
To see the scripts or read more about my breakdown, please see below:
– Estimating Core Body Temperature Using Continuous HR Observations
– Processing Respiratory Patterns From Oxygen Saturation
– Determining Your Heart Rate Using Any Smart Phone Camera
Please note that the demonstration below is a rewritten python version of this application that outputs heart rate, and respiration rate solely for demo purposes. It follows the following process below:
