Advanced rPPG (Remote Photoplethysmography) Application

A cross-platform Python application for remote heart rate monitoring using computer vision techniques. This advanced application provides real-time heart rate estimation, HRV analysis, and comprehensive signal quality assessment.

🌟 Features

• Live Video Processing: Real-time heart rate monitoring from webcam
• File-based Processing: Analyze pre-recorded video files
• Advanced Face Detection: Using MediaPipe for robust face tracking
• Multiple rPPG Algorithms: Chrominance, POS, and Green Channel methods
• Signal Quality Metrics: Comprehensive quality assessment and recommendations
• Real-time Visualization: Live plots of heart rate, HRV, and signal quality
• HRV Analysis: Time-domain, frequency-domain, and non-linear metrics
• Cross-platform GUI: Built with PyQt5 for Windows, Linux, and macOS
• Data Export: Save results to CSV/JSON formats with detailed reports

📋 Requirements

• Python: 3.8 or higher
• Operating System: Windows, Linux, or macOS
• Hardware: Webcam (for live processing)
• Memory: Minimum 4GB RAM (8GB recommended)
• Storage: 1GB free space

🚀 Quick Installation

Option 1: Automated Installation (Recommended)

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Sherin-SEF-AI/advanced-rPPG.git
cd advanced-rPPG

# Run the installation script
./install.sh

Option 2: Manual Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Sherin-SEF-AI/advanced-rPPG.git
cd advanced-rPPG

# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv rppg_env

# Activate virtual environment
# On Linux/macOS:
source rppg_env/bin/activate
# On Windows:
rppg_env\Scripts\activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Install the application
pip install -e .

Option 3: Using pip (if published)

pip install advanced-rppg

🎯 Usage

Starting the Application

# Activate virtual environment (if using manual installation)
source rppg_env/bin/activate

# Run the application
python main.py

# Or use the command-line tool
rppg-app

Using the Application

1. Live Monitoring:

   • Click "Start Live" to begin real-time heart rate monitoring
   • Position your face in the camera view
   • Ensure good lighting conditions
   • Stay relatively still for best results

2. Video File Analysis:

   • Click "Load Video" to select a video file
   • The application will process the video and display results

3. Viewing Results:

   • Real-time heart rate is displayed in the control panel
   • Signal quality metrics are shown with color-coded indicators
   • HRV metrics are calculated and displayed
   • Live plots show signal trends over time

4. Saving Data:

   • Use File → Save Data to export results
   • Choose between CSV and JSON formats
   • Comprehensive reports are generated automatically

📊 Understanding the Results

Heart Rate Display

• Green: Normal range (60-100 BPM)
• Orange: Slightly elevated/depressed (50-60 or 100-120 BPM)
• Red: Outside normal range (<50 or >120 BPM)

Signal Quality Metrics

• Overall Quality: Combined score of all quality factors
• SNR: Signal-to-Noise Ratio
• Stability: Signal consistency over time
• Lighting Consistency: Uniformity of illumination
• Face Quality: Face detection confidence

HRV Metrics

• RMSSD: Root Mean Square of Successive Differences
• SDNN: Standard Deviation of NN Intervals
• pNN50: Percentage of successive RR intervals >50ms
• LF/HF Ratio: Low Frequency to High Frequency ratio

⚙️ Configuration

Algorithm Selection

Choose from three rPPG algorithms:

• Chrominance: Advanced color-based method (default)
• POS: Plane-Orthogonal-to-Skin method
• Green Channel: Simple green channel analysis

Processing Parameters

• FPS: Frame rate for processing (15-60 fps)
• Face Landmarks: Toggle face landmark visualization
• Quality Metrics: Enable/disable quality assessment

🔧 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. No Face Detected:

   • Ensure face is clearly visible in camera
   • Check lighting conditions
   • Try adjusting camera position

2. Poor Signal Quality:

   • Improve lighting (avoid shadows and glare)
   • Reduce movement during measurement
   • Ensure consistent camera distance

3. Application Won't Start:

   • Check Python version (3.8+ required)
   • Verify all dependencies are installed
   • Check system requirements

4. Camera Not Working:

   • Ensure camera permissions are granted
   • Check if camera is being used by another application
   • Try different camera index in settings

Performance Optimization

• Lower FPS: Reduce processing load for better performance
• Smaller Window: Process smaller video regions
• Quality vs Speed: Balance between accuracy and real-time performance

📁 Project Structure

advanced-rPPG/
├── main.py                 # Main application entry point
├── requirements.txt        # Python dependencies
├── setup.py               # Installation script
├── install.sh             # Automated installation
├── README.md              # This file
├── rppg_core/             # Core rPPG processing
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── face_detector.py   # Face detection and tracking
│   ├── signal_processor.py # rPPG signal processing
│   ├── quality_metrics.py # Signal quality assessment
│   └── hrv_analyzer.py    # HRV analysis
├── gui/                   # User interface
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── main_window.py     # Main application window
│   ├── video_widget.py    # Video display and processing
│   ├── plot_widget.py     # Real-time plotting
│   └── control_panel.py   # Control panel
├── utils/                 # Utility functions
│   ├── __init__.py
│   └── file_utils.py      # File operations
└── data/                  # Data storage directory
    └── .gitkeep

🧪 Technical Details

rPPG Algorithms

1. Chrominance Method:

   • Uses color space transformations
   • Combines RGB channels for optimal signal extraction
   • Most robust for varying lighting conditions

2. POS Method:

   • Projects signals onto plane orthogonal to skin tone
   • Reduces motion artifacts
   • Good for stationary subjects

3. Green Channel Method:

   • Simple green channel analysis
   • Baseline method for comparison
   • Fastest processing

Signal Processing Pipeline

1. Face Detection: MediaPipe-based face detection and landmark extraction
2. ROI Selection: Forehead region extraction for signal processing
3. Signal Extraction: RGB signal extraction from ROI
4. Filtering: Bandpass filtering (0.7-4.0 Hz)
5. Frequency Analysis: FFT-based heart rate estimation
6. Quality Assessment: Multi-factor quality evaluation

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guidelines for details.

Development Setup

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/Sherin-SEF-AI/advanced-rPPG.git
cd advanced-rPPG

# Install development dependencies
pip install -e .[dev]

# Run tests
pytest

# Format code
black .

# Type checking
mypy .

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• MediaPipe: Face detection and landmark extraction
• OpenCV: Computer vision processing
• PyQt5: Cross-platform GUI framework
• SciPy: Signal processing algorithms
• NumPy: Numerical computing

📞 Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Documentation: Wiki
• Email: sherin.joseph2217@gmail.com

🔬 Research Applications

This application is suitable for:

• Clinical Research: Heart rate monitoring studies
• Sports Science: Exercise physiology research
• Human-Computer Interaction: Stress detection
• Telemedicine: Remote health monitoring
• Wearable Technology: Validation studies

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Note: This application is for research and educational purposes. It is not intended for medical diagnosis or treatment. Always consult healthcare professionals for medical concerns.