Contactless multiscale measurement of cardiac motion using biomedical radar sensor

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cardiovascular Technology
• Radar Systems

Background:

• Traditional heartbeat measurement methods like electrocardiography (ECG), heart sound, and ultrasound require physical contact.
• These conventional methods can suffer from signal loss and incomplete data segments (blind segments) during measurement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and evaluate a novel contactless method for multiscale cardiac motion measurement.
• To overcome the limitations of contact-based methods and eliminate blind segments in cardiac signal acquisition.

Main Methods:

• Utilized impulse radio ultra-wideband (IR-UWB) radar operating at a 7.29 GHz center frequency.
• Conducted experiments on five healthy male subjects, recording 10-second breath-hold data at a 55 cm distance.
• Simultaneously monitored electrocardiography (ECG) as a reference for validation.

Main Results:

• Cardiac motion detection amplitude was superior from the front compared to the back.
• Optimal cardiac motion information was obtained at a radar detection angle of 120°.
• The radar method successfully detected all ECG information and previously blind cardiac motion segments.

Conclusions:

• The proposed contactless IR-UWB radar method achieves multiscale cardiac motion measurement without blind segments.
• This technology offers a promising approach for fast, accurate cardiac disease assessment and diagnosis.
• Potential applications include contactless online cardiac monitoring and remote in-home healthcare.