Non-contact Vital Signs Monitoring in Paediatric Anaesthesia – Current Challenges and Future Direction

Grech, Nicole; Agius, Jean Calleja; Sciberras, Stephen; Micallef, Neil; Camilleri, Kenneth; Falzon, Owen

doi:10.14712/18059694.2023.14

Acta Medica > Archive > 2023, Vol. 66 > Issue 2 > Non-contact Vital Signs Monitoring in…

Acta Med. 2023, 66: 39-46

https://doi.org/10.14712/18059694.2023.14

Non-contact Vital Signs Monitoring in Paediatric Anaesthesia – Current Challenges and Future Direction

Nicole Grech^a, Jean Calleja Agius^b, Stephen Sciberras^a, Neil Micallef^c, Kenneth Camilleri^c, Owen Falzon^c

^aDepartment of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Mater Dei Hospital, Malta
^bDepartment of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Malta
^cCentre for Biomedical Cybernetics, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malta

Received January 21, 2023
Accepted May 8, 2023

Non-contact vital sign monitoring is an area of increasing interest in the clinical scenario since it offers advantages over traditional monitoring using leads and wires. These advantages include reduction in transmission of infection and more freedom of movement. Yet there is a paucity of studies available in the clinical setting particularly in paediatric anaesthesia. This scoping review aims to investigate why contactless monitoring, specifically with red-green-blue cameras, is not implemented in mainstream practise. The challenges, drawbacks and limitations of non-contact vital sign monitoring, will be outlined, together with future direction on how it can potentially be implemented in the setting of paediatric anaesthesia, and in the critical care scenario.