Pilot study for non-invasive diabetes detection through classification of photoplethysmography signals using convolutional neural networks

Abstract

Diabetes is a chronic disorder affecting vascular health, often altering pulse wave characteristics. Traditional pulse wave analysis (PWA) methods face challenges such as variability and complexity of signals. This study aims to overcome these limitations by leveraging deep learning models for more accurate and efficient classification. The methodology used in this study involves four key steps: data collection, data preprocessing, Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model development, and model evaluation. Primary data were collected using a multipara patient monitor, including finger photoplethysmography (PPG) signals, blood pressure, mean arterial pressure, oxygen saturation, and pulse rate. Single pulse wave cycles from 60 healthy individuals and 60 patients with type 2 diabetes underwent preprocessing. The CNN model was trained using 50 PPG images from each group and achieved a training accuracy of 92%. The prediction capability of the model was evaluated using 20 unseen images, comprising 10 healthy and 10 diabetes PPG images. It attained a 90% overall test accuracy in distinguishing between PPG images of individuals with diabetes and those who are healthy. These findings suggest that CNNbased analysis of PPG signals provides a precise, non-invasive tool for diabetes screening. To further enhance accuracy, future studies should focus on increasing the dataset size and performing hyperparameter tuning to optimize the CNN model.