Guest Editorial Camera-Based Health Monitoring in Real-World Scenarios

At Present, cameras are increasingly used to measure physiological signals from human face and body for contactless health monitoring, thereby eliminating mechanical contact with the skin that are common in wearable sensors. This is an emerging research direction developing rapidly in the last decade and which is now gradually maturing into products for patient monitoring. Advancements in biomedical optics, physiological measurement, computer vision and artificial intelligence (AI) enabled various camera-based measurements, including vital signs like heart rate (HR), respiration rate (RR), oxygen saturation (SpO2), blood pressure (BP), and physiological markers that have diagnostic capabilities, such as the detection of arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation, apnea, hypertension, etc. Image and video analysis also permit the measurement of human semantics, context and behaviours that provide new insights into health informatics (e.g., facial analysis and body actigraphy for the assessment of patient delirium), which is a unique advantage of camera sensors as compared to biomedical sensors, like e.g., photoplethysmography (PPG) and electrocardiogram (ECG). Camera-based health monitoring will bring a rich set of compelling healthcare applications that directly improve upon contact-based monitoring solutions in various scenarios like clinical units including e.g., the intensive care unit (ICU), the neonatal ICU (NICU) or sleep centers, and assisted-living homes (e.g., elderly homes or confinement centers), improving patient care experience and people's quality of life.