FM-UWB for Communications and Radar in Medical Applications

Abstract

UWB technology is a useful and safe new technology in the area of wireless body area network. There are many advantages of using UWB as a communication standard for biomedical applications. Due to very low radiated power (−41.3 dBm/MHz), low power consumption, good coexistence with the other existing instruments, Robustness to interference and multipath. Moreover, one specific UWB technology, namely Frequency Modulated (FM)-UWB, has also an important advantage, which make it even more convenient for medical applications, such as simple low cost design (FM, no receive LO, no carrier synchronization as in IR-UWB). UWB technology has been also proposed radar applications such as: Non-Invasive Heart and Respiration Rate Monitoring; Detection of Cardiac Arrhythmias; Detection of Pathological Respiratory Patterns, particularly in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Sleep Apnea; Multi-Patient Monitoring; Detection and Non-Invasive Imaging of Breast Tumors. However, pulsed radar are mainly used for these applications. The main issue that is addressed in this paper is the integration of sensing and communication using FM-UWB and radar technology so that a single device can be obtained for two different operational mode. We have show that FM-UWB as radar can meet the requirements of typical biomedical applications such as Non-Invasive Heart and Respiration Rate Monitoring. Advantages and challenges of this integration are shown. Future perspectives of this novel activity will be drawn.

Short-Range Vital Signs Sensing Based on EEMD and CWT Using IR-UWB Radar

“…Considering spectrum of slow-time signal fully, in this section, we propose and elaborate the theory of a combined detection method based on a variation of EEMD algorithm and CWT analysis for impulse UWB signal module, after the clutter suppression using (6).…”

“…In contrast, the wearable devices demand the subject attaching to electric poles twisted with several wires for heartbeat monitoring or vacuum belt for respiratory monitoring during sleep, which may have a negative impact on sleeping quality [5]. Despite the benefits it brings, the wide implementation of non-contact physiological detectors in practical clinical applications was limited and even stopped in the past years due to the concern for human safety under the high power radiation, as well as bulkiness of the apparatus and high cost [6]. 3 of 15 computed to obtain each mode.…”

Short-Range Vital Signs Sensing Based on EEMD and CWT Using IR-UWB Radar

“…Typically, most UWB radars transmit via large bandwidth over short pulse periods, usually on the order of a nanosecond, or even a picosecond; we generally refer to this type of UWB signalling as impulse radio UWB (IR-UWB) radar [6][7][8]. This has gained popularity in social and military applications in through-wall imaging, ground penetrating radar, detection of moving targets, and so on owing to its high penetrability and high range resolution [9].…”

A Survey on FM-UWB Transceivers

“…Furthermore, the low radiated power of the FM-UWB is safe for human tissue exposure, which enables FM-UWB to be used as both a sensing and a communication standard for biomedical applications, which gives compact implementation in terms of integrated system [6][7][8][9].…”