Feasibility of Remote Vital Signs Sensing with a mm-Wave CW Reflectometer

Remote monitoring of vital signs (VS) is an emerging technology with a vast number of possible uses from hospital care to the automotive industry and assisting living environments. Radio-frequency (RF) sensing enables the remote and unobtrusive measurement of VS without the need to wear any special device or clothing and under any lighting conditions. A demonstrator of RF vital signs sensing was designed and prototyped based on a continuous wave reflectometer involving a Software Defined Radio platform. The sensor operates at 110 GHz. The feasibility of remote respiration and heart rate (HR) monitoring was investigated. The breathing pattern was found to affect significantly the reliability of the HR estimation. The potential of remote VS sensing at distances up to 10 m was theoretically explored.