Markerless Radio Frequency Indoor Monitoring for Telemedicine: Gait Analysis, Indoor Positioning, Fall Detection, Tremor Analysis, Vital Signs and Sleep Monitoring

Abstract

Quantitative indoor monitoring, in a low-invasive and accurate way, is still an unmet need in clinical practice. Indoor environments are more challenging than outdoor environments, and are where patients experience difficulty in performing activities of daily living (ADLs). In line with the recent trends of telemedicine, there is an ongoing positive impulse in moving medical assistance and management from hospitals to home settings. Different technologies have been proposed for indoor monitoring over the past decades, with different degrees of invasiveness, complexity, and capabilities in full-body monitoring. The major classes of devices proposed are inertial-based sensors (IMU), vision-based devices, and geomagnetic and radiofrequency (RF) based sensors. In recent years, among all available technologies, there has been an increasing interest in using RF-based technology because it can provide a more accurate and reliable method of tracking patients’ movements compared to other methods, such as camera-based systems or wearable sensors. Indeed, RF technology compared to the other two techniques has higher compliance, low energy consumption, does not need to be worn, is less susceptible to noise, is not affected by lighting or other physical obstacles, has a high temporal resolution without a limited angle of view, and fewer privacy issues. The aim of the present narrative review was to describe the potential applications of RF-based indoor monitoring techniques and highlight their differences compared to other monitoring technologies.

Intelligent Millimeter-Wave System for Human Activity Monitoring for Telemedicine

“…Other wearable devices, such as the Hexoskin smart shirt [ 32 ] and smart textile gloves developed by Itex [ 33 ], present alternative options for HAR. However, the persistent need to wear these devices imposes limitations on their utilization in a variety of situations such as when individuals need to take a shower or during sleep [ 34 ]. As mentioned before, especially when monitoring older adults, failure to constantly wear monitoring devices can lead to missing unexpected events such as falls [ 35 ].…”

Levodopa-Induced Dyskinesias in Parkinson’s Disease: An Overview on Pathophysiology, Clinical Manifestations, Therapy Management Strategies and Future Directions

“…Clinical evaluation remains the gold standard for motor symptom identification and diagnosis in routine clinical practice. However, new technologies, like wearable motion sensor devices, are opening new ways not only for continuous at-home symptom monitoring [ 55 , 56 ] but also for the objective and quantitative description of PD motor symptoms [ 57 , 58 , 59 ], like tremors [ 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 ], bradykinesia [ 64 , 65 , 66 ], rigidity [ 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 ], gait, balance and postural issues [ 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 ], alongside motor complications like motor fluctuations and dyskinesias [ 76 , 77 , 78 ]. Additionally, among non-wearable sensors, video-based systems represent a reliable solution to assess the features of LIDs [ 79 ].…”

“…Clinical evaluation remains the gold standard for motor symptom identification and diagnosis in routine clinical practice. However, new technologies, like wearable motion sensor devices, are opening new ways not only for continuous at-home symptom monitoring [55,56] but also for the objective and quantitative description of PD motor symptoms [57][58][59], like tremors [60][61][62][63], bradykinesia [64][65][66], rigidity [66][67][68][69], gait, balance and…”

Ubiquitous Gait Analysis through Footstep-Induced Floor Vibrations

“…These approaches can achieve high accuracy in well-calibrated clinics but are unsuitable for ubiquitous gait analysis in daily life because they are expensive and require long calibration time and professionally trained staff to operate [ 12 ]. To enable ubiquitous gait analysis, other studies have developed portable cameras, wearable devices, pressure mats, and radio frequency (RF)-based systems for daily tracking [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. However, they have raised privacy concerns and operational limitations such as direct line-of-sight, having to carry/charge devices, and dense sensor deployment, preventing them from being widely adopted.…”