Influence of digital filtering parameters on the pulse waveform in reflectance photoplethysmography

Photoplethysmography (PPG) is an optical method for recording pulse wave (PW) propagating in the tissue microvasculature. As a rule, filters with infinite impulse response (Butterworth, Bessel, etc.) often used in PPG signal processing introduce distortions in the PW signal. At the same time, the filtering parameters for a more accurate reproduction of PW have not yet been substantiated. The aim of this work is to study the influence of digital filtering parameters, such as bandwidth and filter order, on the pulse waveform. In the study, a digital bandpass Butterworth filter was used. The lower cutoff frequency of the filter varied from 0.1 to 1 Hz, the upper cutoff frequency varied from 2 to 10 Hz and the filter order – from 2nd to 6th. It was found that an increase in the lower cutoff frequency of the bandpass filtering leads to a decrease in the amplitude of the reflected diastolic wave and distortion of the front of the direct systolic wave. A decrease in the upper cutoff frequency leads to damping of the dicrotic notch and a phase shift of the PW. Increasing the filter order decreases the reflected wave amplitude. The minimal distortions of the PPG signal were observed at the lower cutoff frequency of 0.1 Hz, the upper one at 10 Hz and the filter order equal to 2. Thus, these parameters of a bandpass filtering can be recommended for processing PPG signals for a more accurate morphological analysis of PW. The obtained results make it possible to create devices for PW analysis with substantiated medical and technical requirements for filtration parameters.