The PEP transducer: a new way of measuring respiratory rate in the non-intubated patient.

OBJECTIVES To explore the use of a pyroelectric polymer (PEP) film as a transducer for a simple respiratory rate monitor and to evaluate the transducer in a laboratory situation. METHODS Laboratory evaluation of a new pyroelectric transducer for measurement of respiratory rate. RESULTS The amplified output from the pyroelectric film produced an excellent respiratory trace when used on a normal spontaneously breathing subject. The transducer is cheap, robust, and reliable. CONCLUSIONS PEP films have the potential to be used as cheap and effective transducers in respiratory rate monitors for non-intubated patients. In the laboratory, they have many desirable characteristics which should now be evaluated in a clinical setting.