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Updated: Nov 15, 2025

Non-invasive Optical Measurement of Cerebral Metabolism and Hemodynamics in Infants
Published on: March 14, 2013
Infant heart-rate measurement and oxygen desaturation detection with a digital video camera using imaging
Matthew E Wieler1,2, Thomas G Murphy3,4, Mira Blecherman5
1Women & Infants' Hospital, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA. matthew.wieler@gmail.com.
Objective:
To assess the feasibility of using an ordinary digital video camera to measure heart rate and detect oxygen desaturations in healthy infants.
Study Design:
Heart rate and oxygen saturation were measured with a video camera by detecting small color changes in 28 infants' foreheads and compared with standard pulse oximetry measures. Multivariable regression examined the relationship between infant characteristics and heart-rate measurement precision.
Results:
The average bias of camera heart-rate measures was -4.2 beats per minute (BPM) and 95% limits of agreement were ±43.8 BPM. Desaturations detected by camera were 75% sensitive (15/20) and had a positive predictive value of 20% (15/74). Lower birth-weight was independently correlated with more precise heart-rate measures (8.05 BPM per kg, [95% CI 0.764-15.3]).
Conclusions:
A digital video camera provides accurate but imprecise measures of infant heart rate and may provide a rough screening tool for oxygen desaturations.
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