Comparison of noncontact camera-based methods for measuring pulse-rate of awake infants

Noncontact camera-based methods for measuring the pulse rate have been introduced in recent years. However, in previous studies, pulse-rate measurement experiments have been conducted only for adults and/or sleeping infants, and not for infants, who are awake. In this study, we compare the principal noncontact camera-based methods for pulse-rate measurement and identify a suitable method for infants, who are awake. We measure the pulse rate of five adults and three infants, and obtain the success rate of setting the measurement region and the root mean square error (RMSE) of the estimated pulse rate using several existing methods. Based on the obtained results, the color-based method and independent component analysis are determined as the most suitable for setting the measurement region and for signal processing, respectively, for infants, who are awake.