Time-Frequency Domain for BCG Analysis

The aim of this paper is to explore the time-frequency domain for the analysis of Ballistocardiogram (BCG) signals. The BCG signal reveals the mechanical activity of the heart by representing the propagated vibrations caused the ejection of blood into the arteries. Several medical features can be extracted from this signal most notably the Heart Rate (HR). The HR can be extracted from the BCG in unobtrusive and nonintrusive way without any contact with the user. An algorithm to extract the heart rate from the BCG signal is presented in this paper. The proposed algorithm uses the time-frequency domain to extract the envelope of the signal. The validation of the proposed method on real signals shows a high performance even in the presence of noise in real conditions of use.