An online algorithm for least-square spectral analysis: Applied to time-frequency analysis of heart rate

We propose a novel online algorithm for computing least-square based periodograms, otherwise known as the Lomb-Scargle Periodogram. Our spectral analysis technique has been shown to be superior to traditional discrete Fourier transform (DFT) based methods, and we introduce an algorithm which has O(N) time complexity per input sample. The technique is suitable for real-time embedded implementations and its utility is demonstrated through an application to the high resolution time-frequency domain analysis of heart rate variability (HRV).