Remote continuous physiological monitoring in the home

As part of a larger study we established a remote physiological monitoring network to investigate cardiorespiratory function during sleep in 400 infants in their homes. The objective of the study was to link measurements made at three weeks and three months of age with detailed measurements of maternal and fetal nutrition during pregnancy and subsequent outcome (growth, development and cardiorespiratory diseases). Five infants per night were monitored anywhere within a radius of 10 miles (16 km) of the remote hub. Of 800 overnight studies on 64 (of 400) infants, 99 were completed. Options allowed downloading data from monitor memory as well as review (on- and off-line) from the infants' or nurses' homes, the hub and the Oxford telemonitoring centre. The reasons for these measurements being made at home were to ensure physiological accuracy and to reduce cost. The network was effectively run by local community nurses; with the exception of the size and cost of the monitors, it had all the elements of a remote primary-care clinical service.