Signal Quality Assessment and Reconstruction of PPG-Derived Signals for Heart Rate and Variability Estimation in In-Vehicle Applications: A Comparative Review and Empirical Validation

Gao, Ruimin; Miller, Carl S.; Lin, Brian T. W.; Schwarz, Chris W.; Jones, Monica L. H.

doi:10.3390/s25247556

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Signal Quality Assessment and Reconstruction of PPG-Derived Signals for Heart Rate and Variability Estimation in In-Vehicle Applications: A Comparative Review and Empirical Validation

by

Ruimin Gao

¹

,

Carl S. Miller

²,

Brian T. W. Lin

²,

Chris W. Schwarz

³

and

Monica L. H. Jones

^2,*

¹

School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA

²

Transportation Research Institute, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA

³

Driving Safety Research Institute, College of Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Sensors 2025, 25(24), 7556; https://doi.org/10.3390/s25247556

Submission received: 18 September 2025 / Revised: 19 November 2025 / Accepted: 2 December 2025 / Published: 12 December 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Wearable Photoplethysmography Applications in Health Monitoring: 2nd Edition)

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Abstract

Electrocardiography (ECG) is widely recognized as the gold standard for measuring heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV). However, photoplethysmography (PPG) presents notable advantages in terms of wearability, affordability, and ease of integration into consumer devices, despite its susceptibility to motion artifacts and the absence of standardized processing protocols. In this study, we review current ECG and PPG signal processing methods and propose a signal quality assessment and reconstruction pipeline tailored for dynamic, in-vehicle environments. This pipeline was evaluated using data gathered from participants riding in an automated vehicle. Our findings demonstrate that while blood volume pulse (BVP) derived from PPG can provide reliable heart rate estimates and support extraction of certain HRV features, its utility in accurately capturing high-frequency HRV components remains constrained due to motion-induced noise and signal distortion. These results underscore the need for caution in interpreting PPG-derived HRV, particularly in mobile or ecologically valid contexts, and highlight the importance of establishing best practices and robust preprocessing methods to enhance the reliability of PPG sensing for field-based physiological monitoring.

Keywords: photoplethysmography (PPG); electrocardiography (ECG); heart rate (HR); heart rate variability (HRV); signal quality assessment; wearable sensors; in-vehicle monitoring; motion artifacts; signal reconstruction

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MDPI and ACS Style

Gao, R.; Miller, C.S.; Lin, B.T.W.; Schwarz, C.W.; Jones, M.L.H. Signal Quality Assessment and Reconstruction of PPG-Derived Signals for Heart Rate and Variability Estimation in In-Vehicle Applications: A Comparative Review and Empirical Validation. Sensors 2025, 25, 7556. https://doi.org/10.3390/s25247556

AMA Style

Gao R, Miller CS, Lin BTW, Schwarz CW, Jones MLH. Signal Quality Assessment and Reconstruction of PPG-Derived Signals for Heart Rate and Variability Estimation in In-Vehicle Applications: A Comparative Review and Empirical Validation. Sensors. 2025; 25(24):7556. https://doi.org/10.3390/s25247556

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gao, Ruimin, Carl S. Miller, Brian T. W. Lin, Chris W. Schwarz, and Monica L. H. Jones. 2025. "Signal Quality Assessment and Reconstruction of PPG-Derived Signals for Heart Rate and Variability Estimation in In-Vehicle Applications: A Comparative Review and Empirical Validation" Sensors 25, no. 24: 7556. https://doi.org/10.3390/s25247556

APA Style

Gao, R., Miller, C. S., Lin, B. T. W., Schwarz, C. W., & Jones, M. L. H. (2025). Signal Quality Assessment and Reconstruction of PPG-Derived Signals for Heart Rate and Variability Estimation in In-Vehicle Applications: A Comparative Review and Empirical Validation. Sensors, 25(24), 7556. https://doi.org/10.3390/s25247556

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Signal Quality Assessment and Reconstruction of PPG-Derived Signals for Heart Rate and Variability Estimation in In-Vehicle Applications: A Comparative Review and Empirical Validation

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