title: Development and validation of a smartphone heart rate acquisition application for health promotion and wellness telehealth applications.
abstract: Objective. Current generation smartphones' video camera technologies enable photoplethysmographic (PPG) acquisition and heart rate (HR) measurement. The study objective was to develop an Android application and compare HRs derived from a Motorola Droid to electrocardiograph (ECG) and Nonin 9560BT pulse oximeter readings during various movement-free tasks. Materials and Methods. HRs were collected simultaneously from 14 subjects, ages 20 to 58, healthy or with clinical conditions, using the 3 devices during 5-minute periods while at rest, reading aloud under observation, and playing a video game. Correlation between the 3 devices was determined, and Bland-Altman plots for all possible pairs of devices across all conditions assessed agreement. Results. Across conditions, all device pairs showed high correlations. Bland-Altman plots further revealed the Droid as a valid measure for HR acquisition. Across all conditions, the Droid compared to ECG, 95% of the data points (differences between devices) fell within the limits of agreement. Conclusion. The Android application provides valid HRs at varying levels of movement free mental/perceptual motor exertion. Lack of electrode patches or wireless sensor telemetric straps make it advantageous for use in mobile-cell-phone-delivered health promotion and wellness programs. Further validation is needed to determine its applicability while engaging in physical movement-related activities.
authors.affiliation: South Carolina Center of Economic Excellence, Technology Applications Center for Healthful Lifestyles (TACHL), Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
authors.forename: Mathew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Gregoski
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.forename: Alexey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vertegel
authors.forename: Aleksey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shaporev
authors.forename: Brenda B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.forename: Ronja M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Frenzel
authors.forename: Sara M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Sprehn
authors.forename: Frank A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Treiber