Wearable respiration monitoring using an in-line few-mode fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometric sensor

Continuous respiratory monitoring is extensively important in clinical applications. To effectively assess respiration rate (RR), tidal volume (TV), and minute ventilation (MV), we propose and experimentally demonstrate a respiration monitoring system using an in-line few-mode fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer (FMF-MZI), which is the first to introduce in-line MZI into an optimal wearable design for respiration rate and volume monitoring. The optimal linear region of the proposed sensor is analyzed and positioned by a flexible arch structure with curvature sensitivity up to 8.53 dB/m^-1. Respiration monitoring results are in good agreement with a standard spirometer among different individuals. The difference in TV estimation is ± 0.2 L, and the overall error of MV estimation is less than 5%.