Contact methods for registering respiratory rate: opportunities and perspectives

Introduction. Respiratory rate is known to be one of the most important indicators reflecting the vital functions of a person. An increase in respiratory rate can be found in many diseases and pathological conditions, for example, in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, bronchial asthma, myocardial infarction, heart failure, anaemia, etc. Due to the active introduction of telemedicine monitoring into clinical practice, the measurement of the abovementioned indicator is particularly relevant for the purpose of early detection and prevention of complications of chronic non-infectious diseases, as well as dynamic monitoring of the condition of patients in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

Aim. To search and update information about existing and promising developments for the control of respiratory rate based on different physical principles.

Materials and methods. For this review we used databases PubMed, Scopus, MedLine and eLIBRARY. The following keywords were used for the search: “respiratory rate”, “contact”, “measurement”, “sensor”.

Results. Contact methods for measuring respiratory rate include a wide range of sensors based on various physical principles. All types of sensors have their own application, but also they have some drawbacks. In order to achieve maximum accuracy of respiratory rate monitoring, it is necessary to carefully assess the conditions in which the patient is located, selecting the most appropriate technological solutions for them. Probably, complex systems, including several different sensors, are able to overcome many shortcomings. In addition, the development of information analysis methods, machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies can increase the sensitivity and accuracy of methods of measuring respiratory rate, reducing the frequency of bias associated with various artefacts.

Conclusion. Thus, technological development opens up wide opportunities for long-term monitoring of vital functions, prevention and timely response to adverse events.

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