Detection of Activities During Newborn Resuscitation Based on Short-Time Energy of Acceleration Signal

Objectives: Clinical intervention for non-breathing newborns due to birth asphyxia needs to be conducted within the first minute of life. The responses of the babies are affected by complicated interactions between physiological conditions of the newborns and the combination of various clinical treatments, e.g., drying thoroughly, stimulation, manual bag-mask ventilation, chest compression, etc. Previously, we have proposed methods to detect and parameterize various events regarding bag mask ventilation. However, the outcome of the resuscitation is likely influenced by not only ventilation but also other therapeutics activities. The detection of the existence of activities using information from acceleration signals is illustrated in this paper. Methods: Short time energy of the acceleration signal is calculated. A thresholding method is applied on the amplitude of the energy signal to determine activity or rest. Results: The average sensitivity and specificity of the detection of activities are 90% and 80% respectively. Conclusions: The performance of the detection algorithm indicates the possibility to use acceleration signal to detect the presence of various activities during resuscitation procedure.