The accuracy of heartbeat detection using photoplethysmography technology in cardiac patients

Introduction: Photoplethysmography (PPG) in wearable sensors potentially plays an important role in accessible heart rhythm monitoring. We investigated the accuracy of a state-of-the-art bracelet (Corsano 287) for heartbeat detection in cardiac patients and evaluated the efficacy of a signal qualifier in identifying medically useful signals. Methods: Patients from an outpatient cardiology clinic underwent a simultaneous resting ECG and PPG recording, which we compared to determine accuracy of the PPG sensor for detecting heartbeats within 100 and 50 ms of the ECG-detected heart beats and correlation and Limits of Agreement for heartrate (HR) and RR-intervals. We defined subgroups for skin type, hair density, age, BMI and gender and applied a previously described signal qualifier. Results: In 180 patients 7914 ECG-, and 7880 (99%) PPG-heartbeats were recorded. The PPG-accuracy within 100 ms was 94.6% (95% CI 94.1–95.1) and 89.2% (95% CI 88.5–89.9) within 50 ms. Correlation was high for HR (R = 0.991 (95% CI 0.988–0.993), n = 180) and RR-intervals (R = 0.891 (95% CI 0.886–0.895), n = 7880). The 95% Limits of Agreement (LoA) were −3.89 to 3.77 (mean bias 0.06) beats per minute for HR and −173 to 171 (mean bias −1) for RR-intervals. Results were comparable across all subgroups. The signal qualifier led to a higher accuracy in a 100 ms range (98.2% (95% CI 97.9–98.5)) (n = 143). Conclusion: We showed that the Corsano 287 Bracelet with PPG-technology can determine HR and RR-intervals with high accuracy in cardiovascular at-risk patient population among different subgroups, especially with a signal quality indicator