Predicting apneic events in preterm infants using cardio-respiratory and movement features.

Background And Objective: Preterm neonates are prone to episodes of apnea, bradycardia and hypoxia (ABH) that can lead to neurological morbidities or even death. There is broad interest in developing methods for real-time prediction of ABH events to inform interventions that prevent or reduce their incidence and severity. Using advances in machine learning methods, this study develops an algorithm to predict ABH events.

Effect of spontaneous movement on respiration in preterm infants.

New Findings: What is the central question of this study? The respiratory centres in the brainstem that control respiration receive inputs from various sources, including proprioceptors in muscles and joints and suprapontine centres, which all affect limb movements. What is the effect of spontaneous movement on respiration in preterm infants? What is the main finding and its importance? Apnoeic events tend to be preceded by movements. These activity bursts can cause respiratory instability that leads to an apnoeic event.

Automated movement detection reveals features of maturation in preterm infants.

Nearly 10% of all births in the United States are preterm. Preterm birth is a major risk for developmental neuromotor disorders. Early characterization of a future developmental outcome is necessary to design early interventions.

Quantifying Movement in Preterm Infants Using Photoplethysmography.

Long-term recordings of movement in preterm infants might reveal important clinical information. However, measurement of movement is limited because of time-consuming and subjective analysis of video or reluctance to attach additional sensors to the infant. We evaluated whether photoplethysmogram (PPG), routinely used for oximetry in preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), can provide reliable long-term measurements of movement.

Vibrotactile stimulation: A non-pharmacological intervention for opioid-exposed newborns.

Objective: To examine the therapeutic potential of stochastic vibrotactile stimulation (SVS) as a complementary non-pharmacological intervention for withdrawal in opioid-exposed newborns.

Study Design: A prospective, within-subjects single-center study was conducted in 26 opioid-exposed newborns (>37 weeks; 16 male) hospitalized since birth and treated pharmacologically for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. A specially-constructed mattress delivered low-level SVS (30-60Hz, 10-12μm RMS), alternated in 30-min intervals between continuous vibration (ON) and no vibration (OFF) over a 6-8 hr session.

Transforming artifact to signal: A wavelet-based algorithm for quantifying neonatal movement.

In neonatal research, physiological signals are often degraded by an artifact generated by movement of the infant. Portions of these movement embedded signals are commonly excluded in the analysis of the relevant physiological signal. However, movement may be a significant marker of physiological development of the infant.

Kangaroo care: cardio-respiratory relationships between the infant and caregiver.

Background: Kangaroo care, i.e., skin-to-skin cohabitation (SSC) between an infant and caregiver, is often used in neonatal intensive care units to promote bonding, breastfeeding and infant growth.