Wireless Monitoring Systems for Vital Signs in Neonates and Infants: a Systematic Review

ABSTRACT

The interest in wearable wireless monitoring systems has accelerated secondary to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the alarmingly high number of infections in the pediatric population underscores a gap in monitoring these vulnerable populations, particularly in the home setting. This systematic review aims to identify and assess currently available wearables used to monitor cardiopulmonary function in infants and neonates. The study, prospectively registered on PROSPERO (CRD42020200642), completed a search of PubMed 1946-, Embase 1947-, Cochrane Library, Scopus 1823-, and IEEE Explore 1872-in June 2020. A total of 2324 unique citations were identified, with 16 studies describing 17 unique devices meeting inclusion criteria. Types of devices included smart clothing, belts, and mechanical adhesives, each with unique battery designs, data collection, and transmission hardware. Only four of the 17 devices underwent rigorous comparative testing, and three demonstrated correlation with the standard of care monitoring systems. Low sensitivity and specificity were reported in two commercially available consumer devices compared to the standard of care monitoring systems. The risk of bias in the entire cohort was highly based on a modified ROBINS-I scale. Further development and rigorous wearable device testing are necessary for neonatal and infant deployment.