Robust estimation of respiratory rate via respiratory quality indices

Image from Licence Details: Robust estimation of respiratory rate via respiratory quality indices

Researchers at the University of Oxford have developed a method to determine whether or not data from sensors (either patient-worn or via video) contain physiological information of a patient’s respiratory rate. It will be used for health monitoring in patients, where the estimation of respiratory rate from patient-worn sensors (“wearables”) or video-based monitoring is currently not sufficiently robust for use in clinical practice. Additionally, this is applicable for wearables in the consumer domain.

Multiparameter respiratory rate estimation

Medical professionals and healthcare providers routinely use the four traditional vital signs; body temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure to detect or monitor a patient’s medical problem.

Measuring a patient’s respiratory rate can often be inaccurate and present significant differences in rates due to existing methods only testing whether or not the incoming data is artefactual.

Performing respiratory rate estimation in this manner is not robust, especially in environments where the patients are elderly or sick – as is usually the case in clinical practice.
There is an urgent clinical need, for a system to measure an accurate respiratory rate and calculate sensor waveforms from existing patient data. Photoplethysmogram (PPG) and electrocardiogram (ECG) are ideal systems to collect data for patients and modulate it in multiple ways.

Improving respiratory rate monitoring

Oxford researchers have developed a system to determine whether a waveform (which may already be known to be non-artefactual) contains sufficient physiological information to estimate respiratory rate.

The result of using this method is a substantial decrease in error for the resulting estimates of respiratory rate. This technology, therefore, adds a new vital sign to the existing set traditionally collected from mobile sensors and video cameras (heart rate and blood oxygen saturation).

The technology has particular application in the fast-growing area of wearable sensors, which are currently limited to non-clinical markets due to the lack of robustness of existing estimation methods.

Request more information
about this technology

Back to Technologies Available

Sparks Background Image

Ready to get in touch?

Contact Us
Sparks Background Image
© Oxford University Innovation