A Non-Invasive Model for Monitoring Vital Signs in Neonatal Unit using Wrist Measuring Sensors

A major technology application is needed in neonatal health care; this refers to the monitoring of vital physiological parameters of premature infants. However, the neonatal monitoring system in most developing countries like Nigeria is not uniform and mostly manual; causing discomfort, data loss and human error. This paper therefore developed a noninvasive system to automate the neonatal monitoring process in the incubators of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The Developed Monitoring System (DMS) consists of a supervisory microcomputer and sensitive sensors for measuring the vital signs. The Conventional Monitoring System (CMS) was used simultaneously with the DMS to collect the vital sign readings of thirty (30) neonates, over a period of one week. A test of significance (t-Test) at 5% level was performed on the data collected from both methods to ascertain the accuracy of the DMS readings. The results of the statistical analysis showed that there were no significant differences between the vital signs readings taken by the DMS and the CMS.