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Contactless Measurement of Vital Signs with Radar Sensors

These benefits allow elderly and sick
people in particular to lead a self-
determined life. But parents also benefit Analyzing Sleep and Detecting
from the technology, as infants and new-
borns especially are difficult to monitor with Sleep Apnea
conventional systems. This is where radar
sensing can really prove its worth, whether Sleepiz’s goal is to detect diseases like sleep apnea to prevent further
it be monitoring for signs of sudden infant health effects like heart problems or diabetes. As an associated partner of
death syndrome or monitoring premature or
seriously ill infants. Infineon and as part of its product offering, the company is also selling its
But it is not only sleeping individuals who algorithm for robust heartbeat and respiration rate detection with
can be monitored via radar. Thanks to the Infineon’s XENSIV™ 60-GHz radar sensor to other customers in order to
compact size of the radar chip, radar sensors facilitate and jumpstart their vital-sensing development.
can be integrated directly into almost all
kinds of smart-home devices, including
smart TVs, laptops or lamps. This allows
the sensor to monitor the heartbeat and
breathing rate of people who are asleep,
watching TV, working on a laptop or reading
with the aid of a smart lamp. Radar tech-
nology can also immediately detect a heart
attack and trigger an appropriate emergency
call. When integrated into a motor vehicle,
it can instruct driver-assistance systems to
bring the car to a safe stop. Furthermore,
radar sensors could be used to detect signs
of fatigue and remind people to take a break
from work or driving.
At the same time, radar sensors enable
other features beyond pulse and respiration
monitoring (Figure 4). For example, they can
be used for fall detection, and there is prom-
ising ongoing research into the use of radar
to measure blood pressure. Because radar
technology enables simultaneous detection
of micro motion, speed and direction, radar-
equipped products can use this information
to support more sophisticated applications
beyond vital sensing. A radar sensor can also Figure 5: Sleep disorders like apnea can be detected through analysis of vital signs
be used for robust human-presence detec- like respiration rate and heartbeat with devices powered by Infineon’s XENSIV™
tion, for example, to switch a TV or laptop to 60-GHz radar sensors.
energy-saving mode while no one is sitting in
front of it. Gesture control as well as tracking
the position of multiple people in a room can
also be implemented. already successfully using Infineon’s radar early disease detection to monitoring the
sensors in their vital-sensing products. For health and medical condition of the elderly,
RADAR SENSORS AT WORK example, Swiss company Sleepiz offers a radar enables low-power and accurate vital
With its XENSIV™ 60-GHz radar sensors medically certified device for sleep moni- sensing at any time of life. ■
like the BGT60UTR11AIP or BGT60TR13C, toring (see sidebar). Furthermore, Google’s
Infineon provides developers with everything Nest Hub 2 is using Infineon’s radar sensor to REFERENCES
they need to incorporate vital sensing into detect vital signs during sleep as an additional 1 Statista. (2022). “Total digital health industry
their designs. Infineon has many years of feature. funding worldwide from 2010 to 2021 (in billion U.S.
experience in the automotive and industrial dollars.” bit.ly/3DHuh0a
radar market and was one of the pioneers CONCLUSION 2 Perret-Guillaume, C., Joly, L., Benetos, A. (2009).
in using radar for vital sensing in consumer With radar technology, it is possible to build “Heart rate as a risk factor for cardiovascular
electronics. consumer-oriented products that take smart disease.” Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases,
The range of high-quality and reliable devices to a whole new level, introducing Vol. 52, Issue 1, pp. 6–10.
products is reinforced with strong support, smart healthcare to the mass market. Radar 3 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and
which is provided for the software as well is the only contactless technology that can Research. (April 15, 2020). “COPD.” Mayo Clinic.
as hardware design and testing of customer continuously and anonymously monitor bit.ly/3l7XTNU
products. All in all, product engineers heartbeat and respiration rate. 4 Infineon Technologies. (November 2018). “Health
save time in development and can provide Radar sensors bring vital sensing to the effects of mmWave radiation.” bit.ly/3JKKwxy
high-quality end products. consumer electronics and healthcare markets. 5 Infineon Technologies. “60GHz radar sensors.”
Infineon’s customers and partners are From surveillance of premature infants to bit.ly/3JFgyL5

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