NA-MEMD Is Actually What You Need for Computational Pulse Analysis

Time-frequency analysis is of necessity for wrist pulse signal due to its complexity, among which, empirical mode decomposition (EMD) algorithm and its improved noise-assisted versions (such as ensemble EMD, noise-assisted multivariate EMD (NA-MEMD) and very recently median EMD) are deemed to be the most representative ones. In this study, we provide an in-depth evaluation of these well-established noise-assisted EMD algorithms in computational pulse analysis for the first time. In particular, we compare the performance of the different algorithms systematically and quantitatively based on objective quantitative criteria: number and central frequency of intrinsic mode function (IMF) components, total orthogonality index and mode mixing. Rather than using synthetic signals with visual inspection in most existing literature, the wrist pulse signals used in the evaluation are real recorded samples acquired from both healthy and patient subjects. Through extensive experiments, we found that: 1) Advanced EMD algorithm that has the best performance in other areas may not be the most suitable method for pulse signal analysis, which indicates its high dependence on the type of analyzed signal; 2) Adding noise can improve algorithm performance significantly, but tends to produce physiologically irrelevant components, which however are usually neglected throughout the intelligent pulse diagnosis literature. Therefore, excluding redundant components before extracting features is expected to improve performance further. Together, currently NA-MEMD achieves a better performance consistently, potential to become a powerful tool for computational pulse analysis, but itself have not been applied in wrist pulse analysis before. We believe our works can bring up a new perspective to application of EMD-like algorithms in computational pulse analysis/diagnosis with effective information and guidance. Additionally, considering the similarity between physiological signals, especially such as photoplethysmogram/electrocardiogram, our research can be extended to wearable health monitoring technologies, including smart watches and fitness trackers, and their potential future applications, such as in heart rate estimation and evaluate various cardiovascular-related diseases. The present study underscored the necessity of evaluation noise-assisted EMDs or other adaptive decomposition algorithms based on real recorded signals with more objective measures. Especially, caution the possible redundant components that are introduced.