Vital Sign Monitoring of Premature Infants - Pilot Study (v 5.0)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Non-contact Vital Sign Monitoring of Premature Infants (MONITOR Study) – An Observational Pilot Study
IRAS ID
122118
Contact name
Kenny McCormick
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust
Research summary
Premature babies are currently monitored on neonatal units using skin contact sensors. We propose a novel, non-contact method of cardio-respiratory monitoring by measurement of the ambient light reflected from the baby’s skin by a digital video camera (which may be a webcam) positioned over the top of the incubator.
In Oxford University Centre of Excellence for Medical Engineering, work funded jointly by the Wellcome Trust and EPSRC had allowed development of a reliable non-contact method of cardio-respiratory vital sign monitoring in adults. The method works under any lighting conditions and only requires a digital camera positioned up to 1 m away from the subject (plus software algorithms). The light reflected from regions of interest in the image is modelled by a set of auto-regressive (AR) models. Heart rate, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation can all be derived from analysis of model parameters in different parts of the spectrum. We believe that it will be possible to derive temperature information and indirect estimates of blood pressure from additional processing of the camera data.
If this method is feasible in premature babies, it may enable risk prediction and early intervention when an infant begins to deteriorate, resulting in improved outcomes. The availability of real-time vital sign data from the digital camera and the ability to observe the baby remotely could transform the process of making critical decisions regarding transfer of sick neonates to a specialist tertiary centre.
In this study we will examine the feasibility of performing non-contact vital sign monitoring in premature babies and the accuracy of data derived from a digital camera by comparing it with data obtained simultaneously via sensors in contact with the skin used for routine monitoring in the Neonatal High Dependency Unit.REC name
South Central - Oxford A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/SC/0597
Date of REC Opinion
13 Dec 2013
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion