January 28, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm in DCH 3092
Speaker: Ewa M. Nowara (ELEC)
Please indicate interest, especially if you want lunch, here.
Abstract:
Imagine if when you looked at someone, you could see their heartbeat. Using an off the shelf camera, we can do just that. As the blood flows through the skin, the varying blood concentration changes the color of the skin slightly over time. Analyzing these subtle color variations allows us to recover information related to vital signs, including heart rate, heart rate variability, and breathing rate, from a simple video recording of a skin region. Unfortunately, the skin color variations caused by flowing blood are extremely small and are easily corrupted by noise, so most existing methods only work in controlled settings in the lab.
I jointly design optical systems with machine learning and signal processing algorithms to understand and overcome the challenges associated with camera-based physiology measurements in realistic applications, including uncontrolled illumination present during driving, or high video compression during Skype teleconferencing. Imaging vital signs with cameras could enable new exciting applications not possible with the existing technology, e.g., Skype teleconferencing with physicians for people living far from a hospital or a smart car that could automatically pull over if it detects the driver had a cardiac arrest during driving.