Standard heart rate (HR) monitoring pulse oximeters use light sensors to acquire HR data through photoplethysmography (PPG). By employing a smartphone’s camera and processing software, a smartphone can measure HR with PPG. The current study investigated the accuracy of the iPhysi-oMeter smartphone app in measuring heart rate before, during, and im-mediately after exercise on a treadmill to determine whether exercise and associated increases in heart rate affected the app’s accuracy. Twenty-eight participants (aged 21 - 29 years) completed the study. Using a re-peated-measures design, HR was measured with the iPhysioMeter app on an iPhone 6s, a 12-lead electrocardiogram (EKG), and a pulse oximeter. The first three stages of the Bruce treadmill protocol were used for standardized exercise testing. Significant differences were found between elevated HR readings from the EKG and pulse oximetry at Bruce 3 and between the iPhysioMeter app and EKG at Bruce 2 and Bruce 3. No significant differences were found for resting values or for Bruce 1 for any of the HR devices. Results suggested HR monitoring apps are an attractive alternative to expensive HR devices because of their usability and affordability. However, because the iPhysioMeter app had limited accuracy with elevated HR during exercise, caution should be used if relying on the app to monitor HR during exercise.
Cite this paper
Greenwalt, S. , Bogue, E. , Bologna, A. , Bowden, M. A. , Goode, L. Y. and Wolfe, R. (2019). Accuracy of the iPhysioMeter Heart Rate Monitoring Application. Open Access Library Journal, 6, e5210. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1105210.
Kurylyak, Y., Lamonaca, F. and Grimaldi, D. (2012) Smartphone-Based Photoplethysmogram Measurement. 135-164. http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=F7yzfrJtwKgC&oi=fnd&pg=PA135&dq=Smartphone-Based Photoplethysmogram Measurement&ots=woysNsIIMA&sig=BjtNoqdM_NcKEqVISFLP1yeth2I
Losa-Iglesias, M.E., Becerro-de-Bengoa-Vallejo, R. and Becerro-de-Bengoa-Losa, K.R. (2014) Reliability and Concurrent Validity of a Peripheral Pulse Oximeter and Health-App System for the Quantification of Heart Rate in Healthy Adults. Health Informatics Journal, 22, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1177/1460458214540909
Matsumura, K. and Yamakoshi, T. (2013) iPhysioMeter: A New Approach for Measuring Heart Rate and Normalized Pulse Volume Using Only a Smartphone. Behavior Research Methods, 45, 1272-1278. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-012-0312-z
Matsumura, K., Rolfe, P., Lee, J. and Yamakoshi, T. (2014) iPhone 4s Photoplethysmography: Which Light Color Yields the Most Accurate Heart Rate and Normalized Pulse Volume Using the iPhysioMeter Application in the Presence of Motion Artifact? PLoS ONE, 9, e0091205. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0091205
Lakens, D. (2013) Using a Smartphone to Measure Heart Rate Changes during Relived Happiness and Anger. IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing, 4, 238-241. https://doi.org/10.1109/T-AFFC.2013.3
Pelegris, P., Banitsas, K., Orbach, T. and Marias, K. (2010) A Novel Method to Detect Heart Beat Rate Using a Mobile Phone. 2010 Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, Buenos Aires, 31 August-4 September 2010, 5488-5491. https://doi.org/10.1109/IEMBS.2010.5626580
Scully, C.G., Lee, J., Meyer, J., et al. (2012) Physiological Parameter Monitoring from Optical Recordings with a Mobile Phone. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 59, 303-306. https://doi.org/10.1109/TBME.2011.2163157
Wackel, P., Beerman, L., West, L. and Arora, G. (2014) Tachycardia Detection Using Smartphone Applications in Pediatric Patients. The Journal of Pediatrics, 164, 1133-1135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2014.01.047
Lee, J., Reyes, B.A., McManus, D.D., Mathias, O. and Chon, K.H. (2012) Atrial Fibrillation Detection Using a Smart Phone. Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2012, 1177-1180. https://doi.org/10.1109/EMBC.2012.6346146
McManus, D.D., Lee, J., Maitas, O., et al. (2013) A Novel Application for the Detection of an Irregular Pulse Using an iPhone 4S in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation. Hear Rhythm, 10, 315-319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrthm.2012.12.001
Allen, J. and Murray, A. (2000) Similarity in Bilateral Photoplethysmographic Peripheral Pulse Wave Characteristics at the Ears, Thumbs and Toes. Physiological Measurement, 21, 369-377. https://doi.org/10.1088/0967-3334/21/3/303
Reisner, A., Shaltis, P.A., McCombie, D. and Asada, H.H. (2008) Utility of the Photoplethysmogram in Circulatory Monitoring. Anesthesiology, 108, 950-958. https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0b013e31816c89e1