Your face can reveal your heart disease

A new study has revealed about the technology that is developed for detecting atrial fibrillation, a treatable but potentially dangerous heart condition, by observing a person's face with the help of a web camera and software algorithms.

Researcher Jean-Philippe Couderc from University of Rochester said that the technology held the potential to identify and diagnosis cardiac disease using contactless video monitoring, which could enable more people with atrial fibrillation to get the care they needed.

The research demonstrated that subtle changes in skin color could be used to detect the uneven blood flow caused by atrial fibrillation, which was an irregular or sometimes rapid heart rate that commonly causes poor blood flow to the body.

The technology described in the study employed a software algorithm developed by Xerox, which scans the face and can detect changes in skin color that are imperceptible to the naked eye, and sensors in digital cameras, which are designed to record three colors: red, green, and blue.

The study found that the video monitoring technique, which researchers have dubbed videoplethymography, had an error rate of 20 percent, comparable to the 17 to 29 percent error rate associated with automated ECG measurements.

This study is published in the journal Heart Rhythm.