A novel non-contact pulse information detection method based on the infrared sequence images

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a novel non-contact method to detect the pulse information from the radial artery using the infrared sequence images. First, a ROI (region of interest) can be located on the radial artery by the infrared imaging system because of its higher temperature than surrounding tissue. Then, a short time of AVI video of the radial artery is recorded and the area of the ROI is calculated in every frame, and a time-lapse signal is constructed using the calculated results, which can reflect the pulse information. Compared to the pulse wave from the pressure sensor, our result is acceptable. Our method reveals a novel non-contact way to obtain the pulse information and shows a significant value in the Chinese medicine. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.