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Updated: Jul 17, 2026
Investigation into Deep Breathing through Measurement of Ventilatory Parameters and Observation of Breathing Patterns
Published on: September 16, 2019
Touchless monitoring of breathing function
Ramya Murthy1, Ioannis Pavlidis, Panagiotis Tsiamyrtzis
1Dept. of Comput. Sci., Houston Univ., TX, USA.
Abstract:
We have developed a novel method for noncontact measurement of breathing function. The method is based on statistical modeling of dynamic thermal data captured through an infrared imaging system. The expired air has higher temperature than the typical background of indoor environments (e.g., walls). Therefore, the particles of the expired air emit at a higher power than the background, a phenomenon which is captured as a distinct thermal signature in the infrared imagery. There is significant technical difficulty in computing this signature, however, because the phenomenon is of very low intensity and transient nature. We use an advanced statistical algorithm based on the method of moments and the Jeffrey's divergence measure to address the problem. So far, we were able to compute correctly the breathing waveforms for ten (10) subjects at distances ranging from 6-8 feet. The results were checked against concomitant ground-truth data collected with a traditional contact sensor. The technology is expected to find applications in the next generation of touchless polygraphy and in preventive health care.
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