A Prototype of IoT-based Real-time Respiratory Rate Monitoring Using an Accelerometer Sensor

Abstract

The emergence of the internet of things (IoT) has provided a dynamic change of healthcare system that enables interoperability and secure data transmission for a more effective healthcare delivery. This paper extends the implementation of IoT in combining medical devices and sensors with an IoT platform. Among various fundamental vital signs, respiratory rate is one of the most sensitive indicators of physiological conditions. Although it is deemed as a prognostic parameter that can predict miscellaneous diseases, respiratory rate monitoring remains frequently omitted and considered as time-consuming using manual counting methods. To address this problem, this paper presents a prototype of a respiratory rate monitoring device based on IoT and real-time systems. The device is equipped with an accelerometer sensor to measure abdominal movement generated by the inhale-exhale process. Butterworth filter and peak detection algorithm are applied to the signal to detect respiratory cycles. The proposed system uses the message queuing telemetry transport (MQTT) protocol that implements publish-subscribe systems. Respiratory rate results are featured on the Node-RED dashboard with motion and peak signals plotted during the test. Monitoring was carried out on five participants and the results were analyzed using paired t-test. Good performance was demonstrated by having no significant difference in respiratory rate using the proposed method compared to the actual values (p>0.05). Hence, this work provides a convenient technique for respiratory rate estimation and may further allow for the improvement of the effectiveness of remote patient monitoring.