Motion artifact reduction using multi-channel PPG signals

1. A data processing device for using improved motion artifact reduction to extract a desired vital signal, which contains a physiological information component pertaining to a subject of interest, from sensor data that includes time-dependent first sensor data, obtained from a sensed region in a first spectral channel that is sensitive to blood volume variations, and comprising the physiological information component and at least one motion artifact component, and that includes time-dependent second sensor data in the form of photoplethysmography data, obtained simultaneously with the first sensor data, wherein the photoplethysmography data is indicative of a position, a velocity or an acceleration of the sensed region as a function of time in one or more spatial dimensions; the data processing device comprising:

a decomposition unit, which is configured to receive the second sensor data, to decompose the second sensor data into at least two components of decomposed second sensor data and to provide, based on the decomposed second sensor data, at least two different sets of motion reference data in at least two different motion reference data channels, wherein the decomposition unit is configured to filter the second sensor data as a function of time with respect to its phase components, so as to provide the at least two components of decomposed second sensor data as a function of time in the form of at least two respective phase components of the second sensor data that are phase shifted relative to each other, and

an artifact removal unit, which is configured to receive the first sensor data and the at least two different motion reference data channels, and to determine and provide at its output the vital signal (V) formed from a combination of the first sensor data and the motion reference data of at least two of the motion reference data channels; and

wherein the photoplethysmography data is indicative of an amount of electromagnetic radiation reflected from or transmitted through the sensed region in at least one second spectral channel that is less sensitive to blood volume variations in the sensed region than the first spectral channel.

2. The data processing device of claim 1 , wherein the artifact removal unit is configured to determine individual weights of the respective spectral and motion reference data channels subject to the combination using a boundary condition, which requires that a weight vector that has as its vector components the individual weights of the spectral channels and of the motion reference data channels to be selected for the combination forms an optimum of a correspondence measure indicative of a correspondence of the vital signal to a prestored normalized correlation vector (b).

3. The data processing device of claim 1 , which is configured to structure the time-dependent first and second sensor data into frames containing sensor data pertaining to predetermined time spans, wherein the decomposition unit is configured to decompose the second sensor data on a frame-by-frame basis, and the artifact removal unit is configured to determine the combination of the first sensor data and the motion reference data on the frame-by-frame basis.

4. The data processing device of claim 1 , wherein the at least two respective phase components of the second sensor data are phase shifted by −π/2 radians relative to each other.

5. An apparatus for using improved motion artifact reduction to determine a desired vital signal, which contains a physiological information component pertaining to a subject of interest, the apparatus comprising:

an emitter unit, which comprises at least one emitter which is configured to emit electromagnetic radiation in at least a first spectral channel that allows determining the physiological information component;

a sensor unit, which is configured to:

ascertain and provide at its output first sensor data that is indicative of an amount of electromagnetic radiation reflected from or transmitted through a sensed region of a subject of interest as a function of time in the first spectral channel that includes the physiological information component and at least one motion artifact component in a respective spectral region of the electromagnetic spectrum, and

ascertain second sensor data in the form of photoplethysmography data that is indicative of a position, a velocity or an acceleration of the sensed region as a function of time in one or more spatial dimensions, wherein the photoplethysmography data is indicative of an amount of electromagnetic radiation reflected from or transmitted through the sensed region in at least one second spectral channel that is less sensitive to blood volume variations in the sensed region than the first spectral channel;

a decomposition unit that is configured to receive the second sensor data, to decompose the second sensor data into at least two components of decomposed second sensor data and to provide, based on the decomposed second sensor data, at least two different sets of motion reference data in at least two different motion reference data channels, is configured to filter the second sensor data as a function of time with respect to its phase components, so as to provide the at least two components of decomposed second sensor data as a function of time in the form of at least two respective phase components of the second sensor data that are phase shifted relative to each other; and

an artifact removal unit, which is configured to receive the first sensor data and the at least two different motion reference data channels, and to determine and provide at its output the desired vital signal formed from a combination of the first sensor data and the motion reference data of at least two of the motion reference data channels.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein

the emitter unit is additionally configured to emit electromagnetic radiation in the at least one second spectral channel that is less sensitive to blood volume variations in the sensed region than the first spectral channel,

the sensor unit is configured to ascertain data indicative of an amount of electromagnetic radiation reflected from or transmitted through the sensed region in the at least one second spectral channel.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the at least two respective phase components of the second sensor data are phase shifted by −π/2 radians relative to each other.

8. A data processing method for using improved motion artifact reduction to extract a desired vital signal, which contains a physiological information component pertaining to a subject of interest, from sensor data, the data processing method comprising:

receiving sensor data in the form of photoplethysmography data that includes time-dependent first sensor data, obtained from a sensed region in a first spectral channel, comprising the physiological information component and at least one motion artifact component, and that includes time-dependent second sensor data in the form of photoplethysmography data, obtained simultaneously with the first sensor data, wherein the photoplethysmography data is indicative of a position, a velocity or an acceleration of the sensed region as a function of time in one or more spatial dimensions,

decomposing the second sensor data into at least two components of decomposed second sensor data and providing, based on the decomposed second sensor data, at least two different sets of motion reference data in at least two different motion reference data channels, wherein the decomposing includes filtering the second sensor data as a function of time with respect to its phase components, so as to provide the at least two components of decomposed second sensor data as a function of time in the form of at least two respective phase components of the second sensor data that are phase shifted relative to each other, and

determining and providing as an output the vital signal formed from a combination of the first sensor data and the motion reference data of at least two of the motion reference data channels;

wherein the photoplethysmography data is indicative of an amount of electromagnetic radiation reflected from or transmitted through the sensed region in at least one second spectral channel that is less sensitive to blood volume variations in the sensed region than the first spectral channel.

9. A non-transitory computer readable medium, said medium comprising a computer program comprising program code means for causing a computer to carry ou the steps of the method as claimed in claim 8 when said computer program is carried out on a computer.

10. The data processing method of claim 8 , wherein the at least two respective phase components of the second sensor data are phase shifted by −π/2 radians relative to each other.