A Study on the Measurement of Respiratory Rate Using a Respirator Equipped with an Air Pressure Sensor

A Study on the Measurement of Respiratory Rate Using a Respirator Equipped with an Air Pressure Sensor

In order to measure the respiratory rate, one of the major vital signs, many devices have been developed and related studies have been conducted. In particular, as the number of wearers of respirators increases in the COVID-19 pandemic situation, studies have been conducted to measure the respiratory rate of the wearer by attaching an electronic sensor to the respirator, but most of them are cases in which an air flow sensor or a microphone sensor is used. In this study, we design and develop a system that measures the respiratory rate of the wearer using an air pressure sensor in a respirator. Air pressure sensors are inexpensive and consume less power than the other sensors. In addition, since the amount of data required for calculation is small and the algorithm is simple, it is suitable for small-scale and low-power processing devices such as Arduino. We developed an algorithm to measure the respiratory rate of a respirator wearer by analysing air pressure change patterns. In addition, variables that can affect air pressure changes were selected, and experimental scenarios were designed according to the variables. According to the designed scenario, we collected air pressure data while the respirator wearer was breathing. The performance of the developed system was evaluated using the collected data.