Detection of Physiological Parameters without Any Physical Constraints in Bed Using Sequential Image Processing^*

Abstract

Physiological parameters, specifically, body movement and respiratory waveform, were observed utilizing an original image sequence processing system. In this study, sequential image processing methods were used to observe both patients with acute myocardial infarction and normal subjects in bed. The results of standard differential image processing and a gradient-based method were strongly correlated with body movement of the subject. Furthermore, the respiratory waveform was detected using the gradient-based method. This image sequence processing system appears very promising for the evaluation of physical activity without any physical constraints in bed.