Infant heart-rate measurement and oxygen desaturation detection with a digital video camera using imaging photoplethysmography.

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.