Earable POCER: Development of a Point-of-Care Ear Sensor for Respiratory Rate Measurement

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Devices
• Physiological Monitoring

Background:

• Respiratory rate is a vital sign, but traditional monitoring can be cumbersome.
• There is a need for non-invasive, convenient respiratory rate measurement tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an earphone-type device, earable POCER (earable point-of-care ear sensor for respiratory rate measurement), for measuring respiratory rate.
• To assess the accuracy of the earable POCER in healthy individuals across different breathing frequencies.

Main Methods:

• The earable POCER uses an ear sensor that emits infrared light into the ear canal.
• Reflected light is measured by a phototransistor to detect ear canal movement associated with respiration.
• Respiratory frequency is calculated over one minute and displayed on a tablet.

Main Results:

• Evaluation involved eight healthy subjects breathing at 12, 16, and 20 breaths per minute.
• The device achieved 100% accuracy at 12 breaths per minute.
• Accuracy was 93.8% at both 16 and 20 breaths per minute.

Conclusions:

• The earable POCER demonstrates high accuracy in measuring respiratory rate.
• This earable device offers a simple and potentially effective method for point-of-care respiratory monitoring.