A wearable patch can monitor breathing and save lives

Scientists have developed a wearable patch that can accurately monitor and detect changes in people’s breathing – even when they are not in direct contact with the skin.

It is hoped the device – believed to be the first of its kind – can be used in healthcare settings and at home to provide an important early warning of deteriorating health that could save lives.

The work, led by Nottingham Trent University, the University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton, with participation from medical technology company Zelemiq Ltd, is published in the journal Sensors.

The work is being progressed at the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre.

Changes in respiratory rate can often be the first sign of deterioration in the patient’s condition in a number of diseases, including sepsis and COVID-19.

Common chronic respiratory diseases, including asthma, sleep apnea and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, currently affect more than 435 million people worldwide.

As a result, the development of methods to non-invasively and efficiently measure respiratory rate with medically acceptable accuracy has been advanced.

The “Pneumorator” contains a series of functional layers and measures the frequency fluctuations of the sensor caused by breathing, allowing accurate detection of subtle fluctuations due to breast enlargement or changes in lung composition.

As part of the study, the device was able to continuously measure the respiratory rate of volunteers with an accuracy of two breaths per minute.

The researchers say the device is inexpensive and mass-producible. It will now be further validated through a clinical trial at University Hospital Southampton, with the aim of achieving regulatory approval within the NHS.

It would be connected wirelessly to display data on a dedicated smartphone or tablet app that the healthcare team can use as an early warning system.

Currently, respiratory rate in hospitals is measured by nurses who manually count the number of breaths per minute – which researchers say can lead to delays in detecting changes and possible treatment.

Although chest band or face mask systems are available for continuously measuring respiratory rate, the team says these can be invasive and uncomfortable to use for long periods of time.

“This is a groundbreaking wearable innovation carefully designed to provide critical support to patients and healthcare professionals,” said Dr. Yang Wei, an electronic textiles and electrical engineering expert at the Medical Technologies Innovation Facility at Nottingham Trent University.

He said: “The ability to continuously measure breathing in this way gives us the potential to enable faster and more effective treatment, significantly improving patient outcomes and operational efficiency in healthcare.”

Professor Neil White, Director of the Center for Health Care at the University of Southampton, said: “This wearable technology allows breathing rate to be measured over long periods of time, which is not possible with traditional manual breath counting. Trends in respiratory rate can therefore be recorded and monitored, offering the potential for rapid interventions that can potentially save lives.”

Dr. Harry Akerman, consultant anesthetist at University Hospital Southampton, added: “Respiration rate is often the first physiological parameter to change when a patient becomes unwell – ahead of changes in heart rate, blood pressure, temperature and oxygen levels.” is also the only one of these that is routinely measured manually and is therefore susceptible to human error.

“We know that earlier detection of disease is better for patients while making treatment more cost-effective. Therefore, a device that continuously and non-invasively measures respiratory rate could be an excellent tool for early detection of deteriorating patients.”