Nemomssa Hundessa Daba, Alemneh Tewodros Belay
School of Biomedical Engineering, Jimma Institute of Technology, Jimma University, Jimma, Oromia, Ethiopia.
J Clin Monit Comput. 2023 Apr;37(2):585-592. doi: 10.1007/s10877-022-00929-8. Epub 2022 Nov 9.
Realtime and remote monitoring of neonatal vital signs is a crucial part of providing appropriate care in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) to reduce mortality and morbidity of newborns. In this study, a new approach, a device for remote and real-time monitoring of neonatal vital signs (DRRMNVS) in the neonatal intensive care unit using the internet of things (IoT), was proposed. The system integrates four vital signs: oxygen saturation, pulse rate, body temperature and respiration rate for continuous monitoring using the Blynk app and ThingSpeak IoT platforms.
The Wemos D1 mini, a Wi-Fi microcontroller, was used to acquire the four biological biomarkers from sensors, process them and display the result on an OLED display for point of care monitoring and on the Blynk app and ThingSpeak for remote and continuous monitoring of vital signs. The Bland-Altman test was employed to test the agreement of DRRMNVS measurement with reference standards by taking measurements from ten healthy adults.
The prototype of the proposed device was successfully developed and tested. Bias [limits of agreement] were: Oxygen saturation (SpO2): -0.1 [- 1.546 to + 1.346] %; pulse rate: -0.3 [- 2.159 to + 1.559] bpm; respiratory rate: -0.7 [- 0.247 to + 1.647] breaths/min; temperature: 0.21 [+ 0.015˚C to + 0.405˚C] ˚C. The proof-of-concept prototype was developed for $33.19.
The developed DRRMNVS device was cheap and had acceptable measurement accuracy of vital signs in a controlled environment. The system has the potential to advance healthcare service delivery for neonates with further development from this proof-of-concept level.
新生儿生命体征的实时和远程监测是新生儿重症监护病房（NICU）提供适当护理以降低新生儿死亡率和发病率的关键部分。在本研究中，提出了一种新方法，即使用物联网（IoT）在新生儿重症监护病房中进行新生儿生命体征远程实时监测的设备（DRRMNVS）。该系统集成了四项生命体征：血氧饱和度、脉搏率、体温和呼吸率，使用Blynk应用程序和ThingSpeak物联网平台进行连续监测。
使用Wi-Fi微控制器Wemos D1 mini从传感器获取四项生物标志物，对其进行处理，并在OLED显示屏上显示结果以进行床边护理监测，同时在Blynk应用程序和ThingSpeak上显示以进行生命体征的远程和连续监测。采用Bland-Altman检验，通过对十名健康成年人进行测量，测试DRRMNVS测量结果与参考标准的一致性。
成功开发并测试了所提出设备的原型。偏差[一致性界限]为：血氧饱和度（SpO2）：-0.1[-1.546至+1.346]%；脉搏率：-0.3[-2.159至+1.559]次/分钟；呼吸率：-0.7[-0.247至+1.647]次/分钟；体温：0.21[+0.015˚C至+0.405˚C]˚C。概念验证原型的开发成本为33.19美元。
所开发的DRRMNVS设备价格便宜，在受控环境中对生命体征的测量精度可接受。该系统有潜力从这一概念验证水平进一步发展，推进新生儿医疗服务的提供。
