Measurement of respiratory rate from the photoplethysmogram in chest clinic patients.
OBJECTIVE
We studied the application of our algorithm for the robust extraction of respiratory information from the pulse oximeter signal acquired from a selection of patients attending the chest clinic.


METHODS
Photoplethysmograms were obtained from 16 individuals: 13 patients with various conditions in the respiratory ward and three healthy subjects. Wavelet transforms were generated from which respiratory information was extracted to obtain a measure of respiratory rate. This measured rate was compared with the respiratory rate determined by one of a variety of other means (a digital end tidal CO(2) signal, the output from a non-invasive ventilation device, or a switch actuated by the patient or observer.)


RESULTS
Respiratory rates varied from 6.2 to 35.8 breaths per minute (bpm). The oximeter rate determined through our method matched the marker rate obtained for all patients to within 1 bpm.


CONCLUSIONS
The technique allows the measurement of respiratory rate directly from the photoplethysmogram of a pulse oximeter, and leads the way for development of a simple non-invasive combined respiration and saturation monitor useful for patients with all forms of breathlessness.
Clifton
David
D
CardioDigital Ltd, Elvingston Science Centre, Glasdmuir, East Lothian, EH33 1EH, Scotland, UK.
Douglas
J Graham
JG
Addison
Paul S
PS
Watson
James N
JN
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010092:Oximetry; D017156:Photoplethysmography / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design; D012119:Respiration; D015656:Respiratory Mechanics; D013997:Time Factors