A novel minimal-contact biomotion method for long-term respiratory rate monitoring

• DOI: 10.1007/s11325-020-02067-4
• Publication Date: 2020-04-15T11:03:08Z
• Authors: Sarah Dietz-Terjung; Jan Geldmacher; Sebastian Brato; Carolin-Maria Linker; Matthias Welsner; Christoph Schöbel; Christian Taube; Jürgen Götze; Gerhard Weinreich
• Keywords: Respiratory Rate; Respiratory monitoring; Sleep-Disordered Breathing

In this study, we assessed the diagnostic accuracy of the device VitaLog (SWG Sportwerk GmbH & Co. KG, Dortmund, Germany) for estimation of respiratory rate (RR) variability.VitaLog is a minimal-contact biomotion device that is placed under the mattress topper. It senses respiratory effort and body movement using a piezoelectric sensor. Diagnostic accuracy was determined in 103 patients referred to our sleep laboratory for suspected sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). SDB was defined by AHI ≥ 15/h. Results provided by VitaLog were compared with nasal flow measurement obtained by polysomnography (PSG).Diagnostic accuracy of VitaLog was excellent. We obtained a correlation of r = 0.99 and a bias of 0.2 cycles per minute (cpm) between VitaLog and PSG-provided nasal flow. Detection RR variability worked nearly identically in patients with and without SDB.VitaLog is an appropriate method for determination of RR variability based on a minimal-contact biomotion sensor. This device is easy to handle, available at low cost, and suitable for long-term monitoring in the hospital or at home.