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Photoplethysmogram (PPG)

• With the heart pumping blood to the body parts, the amount of
blood reaching the body peripherals changes with every
heartbeat.
• Photoplethysmogram (PPG) signal describes the amount of
change of blood flow in peripherals with heartbeats.
• PPG is commonly measured at fingertip or at earlobe.

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PPG Signal Acquisition

• The device used to acquire the PPG signal is the pulse oximeter.
• The pulse oximeter has a Light Emitting Diode (LED) to shine a
light through the fingertip and a photodetector (PD) to measure
the amount of the reflected light.

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PPG Waveform

The DC component in the resulting waveform is due to the reflectance

of light on bones, tissues, and other stationary parts.

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Pulse Oximeter in ICU

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 Blood Oxygen Saturation (SpO2)

• Blood oxygen saturation is an estimation of the amount of oxygen

dissolved in blood.
• It is described as the percentage of oxygenated hemoglobin to the
total amount of hemoglobin.

𝐻𝑏𝑂2
𝑆𝑝𝑂2 % = x 100
𝐻𝑏𝑂2 + 𝐻𝑏

• Normal oxygen saturation level for most healthy persons is 94% to

100%.

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SpO2
• SpO2 level is used to help with the early detection of COVID
pneumonia, which may cause initially unnoticeable low arterial
oxygen saturation.
• It is reported that COVID pneumonia patients have oxygen
saturations as low as 50 percent.

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SpO2 Measurement
• The SpO2 level is commonly measured by pulse oximeter having two
LEDs, Red and Infrared (IR).
• With two light beams with different wavelengths, Red (660 nm) and IR
(880 nm), it is reported that HbO2 and Hb absorb the two different
wavelengths with different amounts.
• Hb has a higher absorption at 660 nm, while HbO2 has a higher
absorption at 880 nm.

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SpO2 Measurement
• The two separate PPG signals determined from the Red and IR LEDs
are used to find the ratio R which is used to calculate the SpO2 level:

𝐴𝐶 Τ𝐷𝐶 𝑅𝑒𝑑
𝑅=
𝐴𝐶 Τ𝐷𝐶 𝐼𝑅

• The accurate computation of SpO2 is based on empirical calibration with

the ratio R for the specific device.

• The following equation is often used to approximate the SpO2 value vs. R.
𝑆𝑝𝑂2 % = 110 − 25 𝑅

• Maxim Integrated Equation:

𝑆𝑝𝑂2 % = 104 − 17 𝑅

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Heart Rate
• The heart rate is denoted as the frequency at which the heart pumps

blood to the arteries.

• It is measured as the count of contractions of the heart per minute.

• Pulse oximeters are able to determine the frequency of the heartbeats

by calculating the time between consecutive peaks in the PPG signal

using a single light source (e.g. Red LED).

• The heart rate is typically measured in beats per minute (bpm). The

normal heart rate of healthy adult persons is between 60 and 100 bpm
while they are at rest.

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MAX30102 Sensor

• The MAX30102 is a reflective pulse oximeter.

• Consists of a light source (IR Led, Red Led) and a photodiode,
and some other components such as amplifier and filter.
• The communication is through a standard I2C interface.

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Using MAX30102 to plot the PPG signal
Connection
MAX30102 Pin Pin Function Arduino Connection
Vin Power Supply 3.3v or 5v
GND Ground GND
SCL I2C SCL pin A5
SDA I2C SDA pin A4

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Using MAX30102 to plot the PPG signal
Sensor library
Open the Arduino IDE and navigate to Sketch > Include Library > Manage Libraries.

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Using MAX30102 to plot the PPG signal
• For flexibility when using the sensor more times, the sensor can be put
inside a clip.
• This also provides convenience for a user instead of tying a rubber
band around his finger every time he needs to use the sensor.

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Using MAX30102 to plot the PPG signal
Upload code
• Upload the code to the Arduino board.
• Put the fingertip on the sensor.
• The sensor can be attached to the finger
with a rubber band for fixing.
• Note that the readings can be negatively
impacted by excess motion or too much
pressure.
• Open the serial plotter window to view the
output PPG signal.
• Make sure the drop down list is set to
115200 baud.

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Using MAX30102 to plot the PPG signal
Output on the serial plotter

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Measuring the heart rate and SpO2
• The previous procedure, which we used to plot the PPG
signal, will be followed except the code will changed.
• Also, you should open the serial monitor instead of the serial
plotter.

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Applications
• Make a project to measure the heart rate and SpO2
using the MAX30102 sensor and display the
measurements on an LCD display.

• Make a project to measure the heart rate and SpO2

using the MAX30102 sensor and send the
measurements to a mobile application.

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