Comparison of Automated and Manual Peripheral Oxygen Saturation Control Applied to One Human Subject at a High Target Range

Newborn infants, mainly those born prematurely, often require respiratory support with a varying concentration of the fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO
₂
) to keep the peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO
₂
) within the desired range to prevent adverse health effects due to both high and low SpO
₂
. Manual adjustment, by nurses, is the common practice. However, the efficacy of the manual control is questionable. A novel automatic controller is evaluated clinically with application to one human subject at a high target SpO
₂
. The automatic controller demonstrated the ability to improve oxygen saturation control over the everyday routine manual control by increasing the proportion of time where SpO
₂
values were within the desired range.