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A non-contact vital sign monitoring system for ambulances using dual-frequency microwave radars

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Abstract

We developed a novel non-contact monitoring system to measure the vital signs of casualties inside a moving ambulance. This system was designed to prevent exposure of patients to infectious organisms under biochemical hazard conditions. The system consists of two microwave radars: a 10-GHz respiratory-monitoring radar is positioned 20 cm away from the surface of the isolator. The 24-GHz cardiac-monitoring radar is positioned below the stretcher underneath the isolator. The subject (22.13 ± 0.99 years) was placed inside the isolator on a stretcher in the simulated ambulance. While the ambulance was in motion at a speed of approximately 10 km/h, the heart rates determined by the cardiac-monitoring radar correlated significantly with those measured by ECG (= 0.69, < 0.01), and the respiratory rates derived from the respiratory-monitoring radar correlated with those measured by the respiration curves (= 0.97, < 0.0001). The proposed system appears promising for future on-ambulance monitoring of the vital sign of casualties exposed to toxins.

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Correspondence to Takemi Matsui.

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Suzuki, S., Matsui, T., Kawahara, H. et al. A non-contact vital sign monitoring system for ambulances using dual-frequency microwave radars. Med Biol Eng Comput 47, 101–105 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-008-0408-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-008-0408-x

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