Abstract

 The aim of this paper is to present the main features of a new approach to cardiovascular screening in newborns. The proposed system is made up of the Recorder and the Analyzer. The former is a medical device able to acquire two channels of pulse oximetry data and lead II from the standard ECG simultaneously; allowing the combined study of these variables with a minimum amount of electrodes connected to the patient's skin. Data transmission to the Analyzer is supported by the Bluetooth standard. The Analyzer is an Android application run in a mobile device to analyze several ECG and plethysmography parameters that allows newborn´s classification as cardiovascular “healthy” and “no healthy”. QRS complexes are detected as the first step to study the cardiac rhythm looking for arrhythmia events. QT interval duration is measured to check if the studied newborn is prone to sudden death. Pulse oximetry values are measure in finger and leg to detect dangerous differences. PWTT index computation offers an indirect estimation of cardiac output; this index is inversely proportional to the cardiac output. A prototype was developed and tested at laboratory level. Results indicate that the developed device is safe according to the IEC 60601-1 standard, and sensitivity in QRS complex detection was 99.36%, enough for the intended use of the proposed system.

Keywords: Cardiovascular Screening in Newborns; Sudden Death; QRS Complex Detection; Ventricular Arrhythmias in Newborns; Long QT Interval; Classification of QRS Complexes; Oxygen Saturation in Newborns

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Citation

Citation: Rene Gonzalez-Fernandez., et al. “Combining ECG and Pulse Oximetry for Newborn Cardiovascular Screening". Acta Scientific Medical Sciences 4.6 (2020): 49-54.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Rene Gonzalez-Fernandez., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.