Improving Vital Signs Monitoring in Real-World Environments With W-Band Phased-Array Radars

Abstract

The implementation of noncontact vital sign monitoring in real-world scenarios is still facing a number of challenges, including the need to deal with multitarget scenarios, optimal measurement location, and precise cardiac activity monitoring. This article examines the potential of different body locations for vital signs monitoring and uses a more overlooked vital sign, the heart sounds (HSs), along with a reduced radar field of view (FoV), to enhance the monitoring of cardiac activity. Furthermore, this work employs phased-array radars to address the aforementioned challenges. The results obtained with the phased-array radar are compared with those from a single-node configuration in different scenarios, demonstrating its superior performance in target location and isolation, precise scanning, and long-term monitoring of daily activities.