Cardiopulmonary Signal Detection Based on Magnetic Induction

Abstract

Cardiopulmonary signal contains vital and rich physiological information, which is very useful for clinical diagnosis and home healthcare. Convectional monitoring methods still need uncomfortable sensors or are expensive for nonprofessional common consumers. In this paper, we proposed a cardiopulmonary signal detection method based on electromagnetic induction. Based on thoracic volume variation affecting the biological impedance, which can be detected by magnetic induction, our idea is to develop a not complicated and practical measuring platform and exploit the intrinsic properties of cardiopulmonary signals with respiratory and heart rate. We have some theoretical analysis about the relationship of thoracic volume with biological impedance, sensor-head parameters, and the optimal measuring position. Then a whole measuring system has been designed and evaluated. The respiratory and heart rate obtained from the proposed method are not significantly different from the reference method (noncontact BCG).