Development of a low-cost, portable, pediatric infection screening system using simultaneous measurement of multiple
Insights
A new low-cost system rapidly screens pediatric infections by measuring heart rate, respiration rate, and temperature. This portable device aids early detection, crucial for reducing child mortality from infections like pneumonia.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Pediatric Health
- Infectious Disease Detection
Background:
- Acute respiratory infections, like pneumonia, are a leading cause of death in children under five.
- Early detection of pediatric infections is critical to reduce illness and prevent epidemics.
- Identifying abnormal vital signs is essential for timely diagnosis and intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a low-cost, portable, and rapid screening system for early detection of pediatric infections.
- To simultaneously measure key vital signs—heart rate (HR), respiration rate (RR), and body temperature (Temp)—in children.
- To create a cost-effective solution for use in developing countries with high pediatric mortality rates.
Main Methods:
- A novel system was designed to measure HR, RR, and Temp within 10 seconds.
- The system utilizes a pulse sensor, Doppler radar, and an infrared thermopile.
- An Arduino Nano microprocessor enables a compact, lightweight, and portable design for the vital signs monitoring system.
- Accuracy was evaluated using Bland-Altman plots and Pearson correlation in a study of 50 children in Mongolia.
Main Results:
- The system demonstrated high accuracy in measuring vital signs: HR (r=0.92), RR (r=0.8), and Temp (r=0.82), all with p<0.01.
- The developed system is low-cost, portable, and rapid, measuring three vital signs simultaneously.
- Trial measurements were successfully conducted in a real-world clinical setting.
Conclusions:
- The proposed system shows significant promise for the rapid and convenient detection of infections in children.
- Its cost-effectiveness and portability make it suitable for deployment in resource-limited settings.
- This technology can contribute to reducing pediatric morbidity and mortality by enabling earlier diagnosis of infections.
Abstract:
The primary cause of death among children under age 5 years is acute respiratory infection, such as pneumonia. Detection of infection at the earliest point of contagion is necessary, to reduce morbidity and prevent infectious disease epidemics; therefore, identifying abnormal vital signs is essential. For early detection of pediatric infections, we developed a low-cost, portable, rapid screening system of pediatric infection. The system simultaneously measures three vital signs: heart rate (HR), respiration rate (RR), and body temperature (Temp) within 10 seconds using a pulse sensor, Doppler radar, and an infrared thermopile. Vital sign signal processing and computation are conducted using an Arduino Nano microprocessor, enabling the small, lightweight, and portable design of this system. Moreover, the cost-effectiveness of the system facilitates system applications in developing countries, which have the highest levels of pediatric mortality. We conducted trial measurement in Bayangol Health Center, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in 2019. A total of 50 children (age 1-14 years, 26 boys/24 girls) were enrolled in this study. Bland-Altman plot and Pearson correlation methods were used to evaluate the accuracy of the proposed system. The correlation coefficients were calculated as HR: r=0.92, RR: r=0.8, and Temp: r=0.82, with p<; 0.01. The system appears promising for rapid and convenient detection of infection in children.
