Enhanced Neonatal Pulse Oximetry Sounds for the First Minutes of Life: A Laboratory Trial

Abstract

Objective Auditory enhancements to the pulse oximetry tone may help clinicians detect deviations from target ranges for oxygen saturation (SpO2) and heart rate (HR). Background Clinical guidelines recommend target ranges for SpO2 and HR during neonatal resuscitation in the first 10 minutes after birth. The pulse oximeter currently maps HR to tone rate, and SpO2 to tone pitch. However, deviations from target ranges for SpO2 and HR are not easy to detect. Method Forty-one participants were presented with 30-second simulated scenarios of an infant’s SpO2 and HR levels in the first minutes after birth. Tremolo marked distinct HR ranges and formants marked distinct SpO2 ranges. Participants were randomly allocated to conditions: (a) No Enhancement control, (b) Enhanced HR Only, (c) Enhanced SpO2 Only, and (d) Enhanced Both. Results Participants in the Enhanced HR Only and Enhanced SpO2 Only conditions identified HR and SpO2 ranges, respectively, more accurately than participants in the No Enhancement condition, ps < 0.001. In the Enhanced Both condition, the tremolo enhancement of HR did not affect participants’ ability to identify SpO2 range, but the formants enhancement of SpO2 may have attenuated participants’ ability to identify tremolo-enhanced HR range. Conclusion Tremolo and formant enhancements improve range identification for HR and SpO2, respectively, and could improve clinicians’ ability to identify SpO2 and HR ranges in the first minutes after birth. Application Enhancements to the pulse oximeter tone to indicate clinically important ranges could improve the management of oxygen delivery to the neonate during resuscitation in the first 10 minutes after birth.