High-Precision Vital Signs Monitoring Method Using a FMCW Millimeter-Wave Sensor

Respiration and Heart Rate Monitoring in Smart Homes: An Angular-Free Approach with an FMCW Radar

This paper proposes a new approach for wide angle monitoring of vital signs in smart home applications. The person is tracked using an indoor radar. Upon detecting the person to be static, the radar automatically focuses its beam on that location, and subsequently breathing and heart rates are extracted from the reflected signals using continuous wavelet transform (CWT) analysis. In this way, leveraging the radar's on-chip processor enables real-time monitoring of vital signs across varying angles. In our experiment, we employ a commercial multi-input multi-output (MIMO) millimeter-wave FMCW radar to monitor vital signs within a range of 1.15 to 2.3 m and an angular span of -44.8 to +44.8 deg. In the Bland-Altman plot, the measured results indicate the average difference of -1.5 and 0.06 beats per minute (BPM) relative to the reference for heart rate and breathing rate, respectively.

Systematic Literature Review Regarding Heart Rate and Respiratory Rate Measurement by Means of Radar Technology

The use of radar technology for non-contact measurement of vital parameters is increasingly being examined in scientific studies. Based on a systematic literature search in the PubMed, German National Library, Austrian Library Network (Union Catalog), Swiss National Library and Common Library Network databases, the accuracy of heart rate and/or respiratory rate measurements by means of radar technology was analyzed. In 37% of the included studies on the measurement of the respiratory rate and in 48% of those on the measurement of the heart rate, the maximum deviation was 5%. For a tolerated deviation of 10%, the corresponding percentages were 85% and 87%, respectively. However, the quantitative comparability of the results available in the current literature is very limited due to a variety of variables. The elimination of the problem of confounding variables and the continuation of the tendency to focus on the algorithm applied will continue to constitute a central topic of radar-based vital parameter measurement. Promising fields of application of research can be found in particular in areas that require non-contact measurements. This includes infection events, emergency medicine, disaster situations and major catastrophic incidents.