Clinical applications of contactless photoplethysmography for vital signs monitoring in pediatrics: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Contactless photoplethysmography (PPG) potentially affords the ability to obtain vital signs in pediatric populations without disturbing the child. Most validity studies have been conducted in laboratory settings or with healthy adult volunteers. This review aims to evaluate the current literature on contactless vital signs monitoring in pediatric populations and within a clinical setting. Methods: OVID, Webofscience, Cochrane library, and clinicaltrials.org were systematically searched by two authors for research studies which used contactless PPG to assess vital signs in children and within a clinical setting. Results: Fifteen studies were included with a total of 170 individuals. Ten studies were included in a meta-analysis for neonatal heart rate (HR), which demonstrated a pooled mean bias of −0.25 (95% limits of agreement (LOA), −1.83 to 1.32). Four studies assessed respiratory rate (RR) in neonates, and meta-analysis demonstrated a pooled mean bias of 0.65 (95% LOA, −3.08 to 4.37). All studies were small, and there were variations in the methods used and risk of bias. Conclusion: Contactless PPG is a promising tool for vital signs monitoring in children and accurately measures neonatal HR and RR. Further research is needed to assess children of different age groups, the effects of skin type variation, and the addition of other vital signs.

A two-phased study on the use of remote photoplethysmography (rPPG) in paediatric care

“…To our best knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the use of rPPG in obtaining paediatric vital signs across varying age groups. Bautista et al published a systematic review and meta-analysis of rPPG in children in May 2023 ( 29 ). 14 of the 15 studies included in the review were performed solely in the neonatal population.…”

Advancing regulatory science through real-world data and real-world evidence

“…Opportunities for DHTs to generate RWD/RWE [15,[21][22][23] Digital health technologies (DHTs) offer a host of opportunities to change how healthcare is delivered, tracked, and disseminated. DHTs are defined by FDA as integrated systems that use computing platforms, connectivity, software, and/or sensors for healthcare.…”

“…Yet there are many examples to point to as to how the field is maturing. For example, in this issue, Bautista et al discuss the state of photoplethysmography, an optical technique that enables measurement of parameters associated with cardiorespiratory function [ 21 , 23 ]. They highlight the unique nature of this tool and the methods (contact vs contactless) used currently both in terms of their positive and negative attributes for specific use cases ( e.g., validation of measurement) and populations ( e.g., neonates vs adults).…”