The following is a summary of “Accurate and continuous respiratory rate using touchless monitoring technology,” published in the DECEMBER 2023 issue of Pulmonology by Addison, et al.

Respiratory rate (RR) is crucial for assessing acute health issues and signaling conditions like respiratory infections, failure, or cardiac arrest. Early detection of RR changes is vital for prompt medical intervention, preventing adverse patient outcomes. For a study, researchers sought to assess the performance of RR determined using a depth-sensing camera system (RR_depth) for continuous, non-contact monitoring.

Thirty adults covered a breathing range of 4–40 breaths/min. Depth data from the torso, captured by an Intel D415 RealSense camera, generated a respiratory signal for RR_depth calculation. This was compared to a manually scored capnograph reference (RR_cap).

RRdepth achieved an RMSD accuracy of 0.77 breaths/min across the 4–40 breaths/min range, with a bias of 0.05 breaths/min. The RR_depth = 1.01 x RR_cap – 0.22 breaths/min formula showed a high correlation (R = 0.997). Performance breakdown for respiratory rate sub-ranges (≤7, >7-10, >10-20, >20-30, >30 breaths/min) exhibited RMSD accuracies <1.00 breaths/min. Testing spontaneous breathing resulted in an overall RMSD accuracy of 1.20 breaths/min, with accuracies ≤1.30 breaths/min in each sub-range.

The investigative study on a prototype depth-sensing camera system demonstrated high accuracy in RR monitoring across a broad range, including clinically relevant rates. The touchless system holds promise for diverse clinical applications.

Source: resmedjournal.com/article/S0954-6111(23)00351-7/fulltext