Validating ViSCOPE: Vital Signs Contactless Estimation Pipeline for Robot-Aided Rehabilitation

In rehabilitation settings, accurate monitoring of physiological parameters is critical for tailoring therapeutic interventions and ensuring patient safety. This paper introduces ViSCOPE, a contactless vital sign estimation pipeline, and its integration into a robotic rehabilitation platform, aimed at providing non-invasive monitoring of heart rate, breathing rate, and oxygen saturation. ViSCOPE was validated against gold-standard devices in both resting conditions and after physical exertion, simulating the demands of rehabilitation exercises. In resting conditions, the system achieved mean absolute errors of 5.50 ± 4.91 bpm for heart rate, 5.13 ± 2.86 bpm for breathing rate, and 1.23 ± 0.43% for oxygen saturation. However, after physical activity, the error committed in estimating the heart rate significantly increased up to 13.10 ± 8.79 bpm (p < 1.00 · 10-3), indicating a reduced accuracy. While ViSCOPE provides reliable monitoring in resting conditions, further refinement is required to improve accuracy during physical exertion, a common scenario in rehabilitation. Future efforts will focus on optimizing the system for real-world clinical applications, ensuring accurate monitoring throughout dynamic therapy sessions.