<p>This report is the result of a diploma work made at IMT at US in Linköping. The purpose of this piece of work is to investigate the possibility to design a general program for data-acquisition using LabVIEW, suiting different hardwares and connections. Great importance has been attached to communication with serialport, using bluetooth, because different wireless PPG-instruments has been developed parallel to this project. These PPG-circuits uses this type of serialcommunication. Communication with USB, GPIB and analog connection has also been examined and analog communication has been tested practically. But any serious implementation of these types in the LabVIEW-program has not been made.The paper starts with theory where LabVIEW, bluetooth, PPG, different connections and the different PPG-sensors is described concisely. Theory is followed by a"performance-part"where the course of action and the LabVIEW- program is described.The result of the work is an application in LabVIEW for communication with different PPG-sensors, where interface, protocol and file-standard/format has been designed. The program is adapted to prolonged measurements with full duplex. Measurements can be saved into ascii- or binary format, and signals can be studied carefully in graphs.Since only one PPG-sensor is fully made, a test in measurement and acquisition has been made with that sensor only. Ragarding the other PPG-instruments, the communication has been tested in hyperterminal.</p>

The aim of the work was to investigate the possibility to combine information from PPG and bio-acoustic technology to extract information that is related to the blood pressure. The measurements have been carried out with several different configurations. First the relation between arterial sounds and the PPG-signal was studied. After those measurements with both PPG and the bio- acoustic technique was concluded on people in different positions and after riding a bike. The goal was to vary the blood pressure. The conclusion that can be drawn in this report is that the bio-acoustic and the PPG-signal in peripheral arteries have the same source. That implies that arterial sounds are a product of turbulence when the pulse wave passes by. Further it can be assumed that it is the first heart sound that is represented in the arterial sounds. The time before and after the arterial sound in one heart cycle vary whit the blood pressure. There relationship seems also to vary with the bloodpressure but it vary differently under different conditions.

This report is the result of a diploma work made at IMT at US in Linköping. The purpose of this piece of work is to investigate the possibility to design a general program for data-acquisition using LabVIEW, suiting different hardwares and connections. Great importance has been attached to communication with serialport, using bluetooth, because different wireless PPG-instruments has been developed parallel to this project. These PPG-circuits uses this type of serialcommunication. Communication with USB, GPIB and analog connection has also been examined and analog communication has been tested practically. But any serious implementation of these types in the LabVIEW-program has not been made.The paper starts with theory where LabVIEW, bluetooth, PPG, different connections and the different PPG-sensors is described concisely. Theory is followed by a"performance-part"where the course of action and the LabVIEW- program is described.The result of the work is an application in LabVIEW for communication with different PPG-sensors, where interface, protocol and file-standard/format has been designed. The program is adapted to prolonged measurements with full duplex. Measurements can be saved into ascii- or binary format, and signals can be studied carefully in graphs.Since only one PPG-sensor is fully made, a test in measurement and acquisition has been made with that sensor only. Ragarding the other PPG-instruments, the communication has been tested in hyperterminal.

The present study was a case study which aimed at exploring pre-service teachers’ perceptions of PPG-SM3T program for their professional development. PPG-SM3T program is a professional development program for pre-service teacher in Indonesia. Research design of this study was quantitative design and used convenience sampling. The sample was 60 pre-service teachers who graduated from PPG-SM3T program in a state university in central Indonesia. Instrument used to collect data for the present study was questionnaire and analysis consisted of Principal Component Analysis, Reliability test, and Exploratory Data Analysis were done in order to analyse the data. From the results of analysis, it was found that generally pre-service teachers who took PPG-SM3T program in the mentioned university response positively toward the program. It was found to be very effective for most of them as a preparation to be professional teachers. Workshop and field teaching practice were two features in the program that particularly helpful to prepare them to be professional teacher. However, it was also found that more supervision is needed for pre-service teacher during the program as well as non-teaching activities. Some specific cases also need to be considered for future improvement.

Through an examination of the processes and influences on the character of grey literature and its producers, this thesis explores the nature of archaeological investigation, how it is reported and the creation of archaeological data in England from 1990 to 2010 and the implications for future understanding of the English archaeological record. I intend to address broad research questions regarding grey literature and archaeology: What is grey literature? Who creates it and why? What is it meant for? Is it fit-for-purpose? My research objectives in studying grey literature reporting and archaeological fieldwork investigation in England are: &bull;To explore the nature of archaeological grey literature reporting and its producers, the framework of its production and communication, and its impact on archaeological research and knowledge production; &bull;To capture the developments and changes in English archaeological practice between 1990 and 2010 and their implications for the creation and understanding of the archaeological record; and &bull;To consider potential future directions for archaeological fieldwork and reporting. I propose to achieve this using a combination of both quantitative and qualitative approaches including spatial analysis techniques, comparative analysis at a range of scales from England-wide to individual case study areas, and detailed analysis of the nature and actual content of grey literature reports alongside a characterisation of the many creators of grey literature reporting. This study will illustrate and explore the process of producing grey literature reporting as well as examining the end product itself - grey literature reports. This European Research Council funded DPhil research was undertaken within the context of the English Landscapes and Identities Project, which analyses change and continuity in the English Landscape from the middle Bronze Age (c.1500 BC) to the Domesday survey (c. AD 1086).

Recording and monitoring vital signs is an essential aspect of home-based healthcare. Using contact sensors to record physiological signals can cause discomfort to patients, especially after prolonged use. Hence, remote physiological measurement approaches have attracted considerable attention as they do not require physical contact with the patient’s skin. Several studies proposed techniques to measure Heart Rate (HR) and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) by detecting the Blood Volume Pulse (BVP) from human facial video recordings while the subject is in a resting condition. In this thesis, we focus on the measurement of HR. We adopt an algorithm that uses the Independent Component Analysis (ICA) to separate the source (physiological) signal from noise in the RGB channels of a facial video. We generalize existing methods to support subject movement during video recording. When a subject is moving, the face may be turned away from the camera. We utilize multiple cameras to enable the algorithm to monitor the vital sign continuously, even if the subject leaves the frame or turns away from a subset of the system’s cameras. Furthermore, we improve the accuracy of existing methods by implementing a light equalization scheme to reduce the effect of shadows and unequal facial light on the HR estimation, a machine learning method to select the most accurate channel outputted by the ICA module, and a regression technique to adjust the initial HR estimate. We systematically test our method on eleven subjects using four cameras. The proposed method decreases the RMSE by 27% compared to the state of the art in the rest condition. When the subject is in motion, the proposed method achieves a RMSE of 1.12 bpm using a single camera and RMSE of 0.96 bpm using multiple camera.

When it comes to calculating physical activity, nowadays a wide variety of tools is at our disposal.The phones used daily incorporate functions that calculate, for example, the number of steps taken throughout the day. Using the tools to set personal goals or to review which physical properties deviate. This work entails collecting data via a mobile camera using an application with the ability to measure luminance for the purpose of calculating heart rate. This thesis is done on behalf of Mobistudy, who wishes to calculate the heart rate during a common exercise test, the Queen’s College Step test. This is intended for use with a telephone held in the hand with the camera's index finger throughout the period, and the light intensity signal is affected by movement disturbances. The purpose of this work is to detect the heart rate in a way that is robust to these disturbances. The results were presented and, in the thesis, it was concluded that the majority of disturbances could be removed, but with the exception of a few tests.

Submitted by PPG Engenharia El?trica (engenharia.pg.eletrica@pucrs.br) on 2018-10-29T13:30:23Z No. of bitstreams: 1 TIAGO BENETTI_DIS.pdf: 5038519 bytes, checksum: 95fa8d1b367b574eee27e772a55a9a49 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Caroline Xavier (caroline.xavier@pucrs.br) on 2018-10-30T17:21:55Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TIAGO BENETTI_DIS.pdf: 5038519 bytes, checksum: 95fa8d1b367b574eee27e772a55a9a49 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-10-30T17:27:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TIAGO BENETTI_DIS.pdf: 5038519 bytes, checksum: 95fa8d1b367b574eee27e772a55a9a49 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-08-31 / Heart rate monitoring using Photoplethysmography (PPG) signals acquired from the individuals pulse has become popular due to emergence of numerous low cost wearable devices. However, monitoring during physical activities has obstacles because of the influence of motion artifacts in PPG signals. The objective of this work is to introduce a new algorithm capable of removing motion artifacts and estimating heart rate from pulse PPG signals. Normalized Least Mean Square (NLMS) and Recursive Least Squares (RLS) algorithms are proposed for an adaptive filtering structure that uses acceleration signals as reference to remove motion artifacts. The algorithm uses the Periodogram of the filtered signals to extract their heart rates, which will be used together with a PPG Signal Quality Index to feed the input of a Kalman Filter. Specific heuristics and the Quality Index collaborate so that the Kalman filter provides a heart rate estimate with high accuracy and robustness to measurement uncertainties. The algorithm was validated from the heart rate obtained from Electrocardiography signals and the proposed method with the RLS algorithm presented the best results with an absolute mean error of 1.54 beats per minute (bpm) and standard deviation of 0.62 bpm, recorded for 12 individuals performing a running activity on a treadmill with varying speeds. The results make the performance of the algorithm comparable and even better than several recently developed methods in this field. In addition, the algorithm presented a low computational cost and suitable to the time interval in which the heart rate estimate is performed. Thus, it is expected that this algorithm will improve the obtaining of heart rate in currently available wearable devices. / O monitoramento da frequ?ncia card?aca utilizando sinais de Fotopletismografia ou PPG (do ingl?s, Photopletismography) adquiridos do pulso de indiv?duos tem se popularizado devido ao surgimento de in?meros dispositivos wearable de baixo custo. No entanto, o monitoramento durante atividades f?sicas tem dificuldades em raz?o da influ?ncia de artefatos de movimento nos sinais de PPG. O objetivo deste trabalho ? introduzir um novo algoritmo capaz de remover artefatos de movimento e estimar a frequ?ncia card?aca de sinais de PPG de pulso. Os algoritmos do M?nimo Quadrado M?dio Normalizado ou NLMS (do ingl?s, Normalized Least Mean Square) e de M?nimos Quadrados Recursivos ou RLS (do ingl?s, Recursive Least Squares) s?o propostos para uma estrutura de filtragem adaptativa que utiliza sinais de acelera??o como refer?ncia para remover os artefatos de movimento. O algoritmo utiliza o Periodograma dos sinais filtrados para extrair suas frequ?ncias card?acas, que ser?o utilizadas juntamente com um ?ndice de Qualidade do Sinal de PPG para alimentar a entrada de um Filtro de Kalman. Heur?sticas espec?ficas e o ?ndice de Qualidade colaboram para que filtro de Kalman forne?a uma estimativa da frequ?ncia card?aca com alta acur?cia e robustez a incertezas de medi??o. O algoritmo foi validado a partir da frequ?ncia card?aca obtida de sinais de Eletrocardiografia e o m?todo proposto com o algoritmo RLS apresentou os melhores resultados com um erro m?dio absoluto de 1,54 batimentos por minuto (bpm) e desvio padr?o de 0,62 bpm, registrados para 12 indiv?duos realizando uma atividade de corrida em uma esteira com velocidades variadas. Os resultados tornam o desempenho do algoritmo compar?vel e at? mesmo melhor que v?rios m?todos desenvolvidos recentemente neste campo. Al?m disso, o algoritmo apresentou um custo computacional baixo e adequado ao intervalo de tempo em que a estimativa da frequ?ncia card?aca ? realizada. Dessa forma, espera-se que este algoritmo melhore a obten??o da frequ?ncia card?aca em dispositivos wearable atualmente dispon?veis.

Stroke is an enormous global burden, six and a half-million people die fromstroke annually [1]. Effectively monitoring blood hemodynamic parameters suchas blood velocity and volume flow permits to help and cure people. This projectaimed to calibrate a custom-made wearable system for measuring cerebral bloodflow (CBF) using a photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor. The measurementswere validated using Doppler ultrasound as a reference method. Five (N=5)subjects (age = 24±1.41 years) were selected for the project. The PPG and Dopplerultrasound probe were placed above the left and right common carotid arteries(CCA), respectively. Measurements were taken simultaneously for 12 secondseach, with six consecutive measurements per subject and 2 time-synchronizedECG recordings. Subsequently, using an extraction algorithm the velocityenvelope (TAMEAN) was extracted from the Doppler image to obtain the bloodvolume flow (ml/min). After synchronization, the PPG signal output expressedin volts was calibrated to the corresponding volume, and a calibration curve wascreated.The extraction algorithm achieved remarkable results, with almost perfectcorrelation with the Doppler image reference, rT AM EAN =0.951 and rvolume=0.975demonstrating its reliability. Challenges encountered during postprocessingand synchronization highlighted the need for careful refinement in the projectframework. Despite successful signal processing and alignment techniques,calibration results were suboptimal due to synchronization difficulties andmotion artifacts. Limitations included impractical measurement locations andsusceptibility to movement artifacts. The calibration process did not yield theexpected outcomes and the project aim was not achieved. All the linear regressionmodels for each subject failed to accurately predict the volume flow based on themeasured voltages. Future work could focus on refining calibration procedures,improving synchronization methods, and expanding studies to include largercohorts. Although the wearable device was tested, the project’s goal was onlypartially achieved, underscoring the complexity of accurately measuring cerebralblood flow using PPG sensors. / Stroke är en enorm global börda, sex och en halv miljon människor dör av strokeårligen [1]. Effektiv övervakning av hemodynamiska blodparametrar såsomblodflödeshastighet och volymflöde gör det möjligt att hjälpa och bota människor.Detta projekt syftade till att kalibrera ett specialtillverkat bärbart system föratt mäta cerebralt blodflöde (CBF) med hjälp av en fotopletysmografisensor(PPG). Mätningarna validerades med Doppler-ultraljud som referensmetod. Fem(N=5) försökspersoner (ålder = 24±1.41 år) valdes ut för projektet. PPG- ochDoppler-ultraljudssonden placerades över vänster respektive höger gemensamhalsartär (CCA). Mätningar togs samtidigt i 12 sekunder vardera, med sexpå varandra följande mätningar per försöksperson och 2 tids-synkroniseradeEKG-inspelningar. Därefter användes en extraktionsalgoritm för att extraherahastighetskuvertet (TAMEAN) från Doppler-bilden för att få blodvolymflödet(ml/min). Efter synkronisering kalibrerades PPG-signalens utgång uttryckt i volttill motsvarande volym, och en kalibreringskurva skapades.Extraktionsalgoritmen uppnådde anmärkningsvärda resultat, med nästan perfektkorrelation med Doppler-bildreferensen, rT AM EAN =0.951 och rvolume=0.975,vilket visar dess tillförlitlighet. Utmaningar som uppstod under efterbearbetningoch synkronisering betonade behovet av noggrann förfining av projektetsramverk. Trots framgångsrik signalbehandling och justeringstekniker varkalibreringsresultaten suboptimala på grund av synkroniseringssvårigheteroch rörelseartefakter. Begränsningar inkluderade opraktiska mätplatser ochkänslighet för rörelseartefakter. Kalibreringsprocessen gav inte de förväntaderesultaten och projektmålet uppnåddes inte. Alla linjära regressionsmodellerför varje försöksperson misslyckades med att noggrant förutsäga volymflödetbaserat på de uppmätta spänningarna. Framtida arbete kan fokusera på att förfinakalibreringsprocedurer, förbättra synkroniseringsmetoder och utöka studier tillatt omfatta större kohorter. Även om den bärbara enheten testades, uppnåddesprojektets mål endast delvis, vilket understryker komplexiteten i att noggrantmäta cerebralt blodflöde med hjälp av PPG-sensorer.

- To be trapped in a roller-coaster That ́s how some of the patients are describing the situa- tion of living with heart failure. To be stuck in their home not knowing if they will have to seek care today and not knowing if they will have the energy to attend that birth- day party later this week.Each year 2-3% of the Swedish population are diagnosed with heart failure, which results in 30,000 new individu- als with the disorder. Cardiovascular disease is rapidly in- creasing in the world and before 2030, people with heart failure will increased by 100%. Our improved living condi- tions and better health have allowed us to grow older and made us more dependent on other types of care, care at home. Today the patients are only looking for changes in weight and if they have excessive water in their body. What if we could see changes in values before they develop in to symptoms? We could then use a smaller dosage of medicine and minimize the risk of damaging other organs.During my work I have met with patients, husbands, wives and care givers to gain a better insight and understanding of the different stakeholders problems. The common factor is the insufficient methods for monitoring that are being used today, which aren’t optimal for patients, relatives or care givers.That led me to look at non-invasive testing methods (PPG), which would make it possible to see a trend of a patients health. Photoplethysmography (PPG) is a simple and low-cost optical technique that can be used to detect blood volume changes in the microvascular bed of tissue. PPG is most often employed non-invasively and operates at a red or a near infrared wavelength due to its properties to permeate tissue. By sending out different wavelengths and recorde how much is transmit- ted, scattered and absorb, the sensor can measure levels in the blood. When the station is done with the test it will send the result automatically to “Mina vårdkontakter” which will be accessible for both care givers and the patient. The profile will provide the patients with test results and a first contact holding advice for immediate and awaiting care. This will educate the patients and lead to them gaining a better understanding of their current health situation.