Work

Roadmap of remote photoplethysmography from heart rate measurement toward clinical translation

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Remote photoplethysmography (rPPG) enables non-contact heart rate (HR) and waveform measurement from facial video, offering advantages over contact methods while contending with motion, illumination changes, compression, and frame-rate variability. This roadmap integrates a systematic review, technical synthesis, and a clinic-acquired demonstration to accelerate rPPG research and translation. We outline the measurement pipeline and synthesize progress across eight domains: datasets, device factors, data scarcity, skin/ROI detection, model- and data-driven algorithms, filtering, and evaluation metrics. Strategies for improved robustness include targeted dataset expansion, augmentation, optimized ROI policies, motion and photometric normalization, and hardware configuration. A proof-of-feasibility using data collected in a routine clinical setting alongside reference monitors demonstrates high signal-level agreement under a multi-metric framework (correlation/concordance, absolute errors, and Bland-Altman bias/dispersion). We conclude with recommendations for accuracy, efficiency, and deployment in real-world and clinical contexts, providing a consolidated resource for researchers and clinicians and a pragmatic path toward reliable clinical adoption.

Source: npj Digital Medicine

DOI: 10.1038/s41746-026-02715-1