New concept using Passive Infrared (PIR) technology for a contactless detection of breathing movement: a pilot study involving a cohort of 169 adult patients

A pilot study has been conducted to validate the Breath Motion Detecting System (BMDS), a new concept using Passive Infrared (PIR) technology for a contactless detection of respiratory movements. The primary objective of the study was to show if movements detected during sleep by the BMDS were indeed related to breathing. This medical device is not intended to measure the respiratory rate, but in a second step, it will be able to detect pathological central apnea in adults. One hundred and sixty-nine adult patients underwent a full polysomnography in which each respiratory movement was recorded concomitantly through the BMDS. Curves obtained by the BMDS were compared to those of thoracic movements recorded by classical piezoelectric belts and of pressure obtained with nasal cannula. The correlations between the PIR sensors were highly indicative of respiratory movement detection. Since PIR sensors are sensitive only to the exemplification of the rib cage, they did not detect obstructive apnea. Unfortunately, only a few patients in the studied population had a central apnea. Moreover as our sleep laboratory was equipped only with piezoelectric bands, the central apnea respiratory effort data are not a validated signal to be used during sleep recordings. The data recorded by the BMDS demonstrate the ability of the PIR technology to detect respiratory movements in adults. The concept is practical, inexpensive and safe for the patient. Further studies with respiratory inductive plethysmography are needed to investigate the potential of BMDS to detect central apneas.