Non-contact physiological monitoring of post-operative patients in the intensive care unit

Abstract Prolonged non-contact camera-based monitoring in critically ill patients presents unique challenges, but may facilitate safe recovery. A study was designed to evaluate the feasibility of introducing a non-contact video camera monitoring system into an acute clinical setting. We assessed the...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: João Jorge, Mauricio Villarroel, Hamish Tomlinson, Oliver Gibson, Julie L. Darbyshire, Jody Ede, Mirae Harford, John Duncan Young, Lionel Tarassenko, Peter Watkinson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2022-01-01
Series:npj Digital Medicine
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-021-00543-z
Description
Summary:Abstract Prolonged non-contact camera-based monitoring in critically ill patients presents unique challenges, but may facilitate safe recovery. A study was designed to evaluate the feasibility of introducing a non-contact video camera monitoring system into an acute clinical setting. We assessed the accuracy and robustness of the video camera-derived estimates of the vital signs against the electronically-recorded reference values in both day and night environments. We demonstrated non-contact monitoring of heart rate and respiratory rate for extended periods of time in 15 post-operative patients. Across day and night, heart rate was estimated for up to 53.2% (103.0 h) of the total valid camera data with a mean absolute error (MAE) of 2.5 beats/min in comparison to two reference sensors. We obtained respiratory rate estimates for 63.1% (119.8 h) of the total valid camera data with a MAE of 2.4 breaths/min against the reference value computed from the chest impedance pneumogram. Non-contact estimates detected relevant changes in the vital-sign values between routine clinical observations. Pivotal respiratory events in a post-operative patient could be identified from the analysis of video-derived respiratory information. Continuous vital-sign monitoring supported by non-contact video camera estimates could be used to track early signs of physiological deterioration during post-operative care.
ISSN:2398-6352