Real-time stress assessment using thermal imaging

Thermal imaging is one of the most promising methods of probing the psychological status of human beings because of its non-invasiveness. This study develops a new method of assessing the stress status in real time. The differential energy between philtrum (located in the maxillary area) and forehead (DEFP) algorithm is developed to amplify and extract stress-induced thermal imprints. The algorithm is then validated against the clinical standard in a controlled lab experiment in which neurophysiologic responses are invoked from subjects via Trier Social Stress Test. The correlation between the extracted thermal imprints and established stress markers (heart beat rate and cortisol level) is significant. Experimental result demonstrates that DEFP has the capacity to classify stress and baseline status. An accuracy rate of over 90 % suggests the feasibility of the real-time assessment of stress, disregarding personal factors.