Monitoring the respiratory rate by miniature motion sensors in premature infants: a comparative study

Objective:existing respiratory rate (rr) monitors suffer from inaccuracy. the study assesses the accuracy of a novel modality that monitors lung ventilation with miniature motion sensors.study design:rr was measured by three methods: impedance technology, motion sensors and visual count, in babies (n=9) that breathed spontaneously or with respiratory support and babies (n=12) that received high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (hfov).results:a line close to equality (slope=0.96, r2=0.83) was obtained between the motion sensor and the visual count of the rr with narrow 95% limits of agreements (<14.0 b.p.m.). the relationship between the impedance and the visual count showed a lower correlation (r2=0.65) and wider 95% limits of agreements (21.4 b.p.m.). the motion sensor- and the ventilator-determined rrs demonstrated a good agreement during hfov, whereas the impedance failed to measure the rr during hfov.conclusion:monitoring rr with motion sensors is more accurate compared with the impedance, in infants, in all ventilation modes.