Non-invasive blood oxygen saturation monitoring for neonates using reflectance pulse oximeter

Blood oxygen saturation is one of the key parameters for health monitoring of premature infants at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). In this paper, we propose and demonstrate a design of a wearable wireless blood saturation monitoring system. Reflectance pulse oxymeter based on Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) techniques are applied for enhancing the flexibility of measurements at different locations on the body of the neonates and the compatibility to be integrated into a non-invasive monitoring platform, such as a neonatal smart jacket. Prototypes with the reflectance sensors embedded in soft fabrics are built. The thickness of device is minimized to optimize comfort. To evaluate the performance of the prototype, experiments on the premature babies were carried out at NICU of Máxima Medical Centre (MMC) in Veldhoven, the Netherlands. The results show that the heart rate and SpO2 measured by the proposed design are corresponding to the readings of the standard monitor.