I-Corps: Microwave Stethoscope for Monitoring Vital Signs and Changes in Lung Water Content

拟议的工作的目标是开发一种低成本和无线使能的“微波听诊器”系统，可以连续监测人体的生命体征，从一个单一的反射系数测量。这些生命体征包括心率、呼吸率、每搏输出量，更重要的是，我们的传感器特有的肺含水量变化。该系统是基于使用一个单一的微型微波传感器放置在病人的胸部反射系数测量。这种宽带微波传感器以类似于EKG导联的方式连接到身体上。测量的反射系数（特别是相位）表现出由于呼吸、心跳和肺含水量的变化而引起的变化。这些生命体征由新颖的数字信号处理算法提取，该算法通过单个测量提供多个生命体征，例如心率、呼吸率、EKG样心脏波形和肺含水量的变化。医疗保健是，而且仍然是我们国家在21世纪世纪面临的一个紧迫挑战。初级保健医生与人口的比例不断下降，以及人口老龄化的需求不断增加，是家庭和以患者为中心的医疗保健方法的驱动力。该项目的成功完成可以提供一种低成本和非侵入性的传感器，可以连续监测多种生命体征，从而改善偏远和贫困社区的医疗保健，并支持各种现场和紧急军事应用。所开发的硬件平台可以作为进一步疾病诊断的研究工具。该项目可以使毫米波集成电路用于人类健康的高精度监测，并为包括流行病学家，儿科医生和家庭医生在内的各种医生提供新的诊断工具。对这项技术感兴趣的典型医学博士包括在肺部和呼吸科、烧伤科和重症监护室工作的医学博士。它有可能帮助改善美国甚至更远地区偏远和贫困社区的医疗保健。

The objective of the proposed work is to develop a low-cost and wireless enabled 'Microwave Stethoscope' system that can continuously monitor human vital signs from a single reflection coefficient measurement. These vital signs include the heart rate, breathing rate, stroke volume, and more importantly the changes in lung water content which is unique to our sensor. The system is based on the use of a single miniaturized microwave sensor placed on the patient chest for reflection coefficient measurements. This broadband microwave sensor is attached to the body in a similar fashion to an EKG lead. The measured reflection coefficient (specifically the phase) exhibits changes due to respiration, hearbeat, and the changes in the lung water content. These vital signs are extracted by a novel digital signal processing algorithm providing multiple vital signs through a single measurement such as heart rate, respiration rate, EKG like heart waveform, and changes in the lung water content. Healthcare is, and remains, a pressing challenge facing our nation in the 21st century. The diminishing ratio of the primary care physicians to the population, and the increasing requirements of the aging population are the driving forces for the home and patient centered delivery of healthcare approach. Successful completion of this project could provide a single low-cost and non-invasive sensor that can continuously monitor multiple vital signs, hence, enable improving healthcare in remote and under privileged communities, and in supporting a variety of in-field and emergency military applications. The developed hardware platform can be an investigative tool for further illness diagnosis. This project could enable use of millimeter wave integrated circuits for high accuracy monitoring of human health, and provides a new diagnosis tool to a wide array of medical doctors including epidemiologists, pediatricians, and family physicians. Typical MDs who would be interested in this technology include those who work in pulmonary and respiratory, burn and ICU units. It has the potential to help improve healthcare in remote and under privileged communities in the US and perhaps beyond.