Abstract
Respiration rate is the average number of times air is inhaled and exhaled per minute. Respiration rate is an important indicator of a person’s health and therefore, it needs to be measured accurately. Existing respiration monitoring systems are generally contact based that means the sensing element needs to be attached to the subject's body. The attached sensor can cause distress in some children, affecting their respiration rate. The device can also become dislodged interrupting the monitoring. This work presents an air flow sensing approach to noncontact respiration rate monitoring. The exhaled air is guided through a small funnel to a chamber that contains a heating element. The heated air leaves the chamber and is then detected by a thermistor that converts the air flow temperature variations to an electrical signal. The signal is amplified, filtered and digitised. Signal processing techniques are used to extract respiration rate from the signal in real time. The device provides respiration rate at distances from 15 to 30 cm from the subject’s face.
Highlights
The respiratory system supplies essential oxygen to the human body to allow it function correctly [1]
The average number of breaths taken per minute is known as the respiration rate
We have investigated a number of noncontact respiration rate monitoring approaches
Summary
The respiratory system supplies essential oxygen to the human body to allow it function correctly [1]. The approach was evaluated in a hospital environment against a number of conventionally used contact respiration monitoring methods These included thermistor placed closed to the nostril and pressure sensors to detect chest movement. A video imaging technique for respiration rate monitoring using a webcam connected to a computer to detect chest movements was investigated [12]. The existing respiration monitoring systems have a number of limitations These include the requirement for their sensing element to be attached to directly to the subject's body. In order to improve respiration rate monitoring, a portable device that performs respiration rate measurement in a noncontact and accurate manner is being developed This senses the exhaled air at a distance and converts it to an electrical signal that in turn allows respiration rate to be determined.
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