A Novel Method for Estimating Heart Rate Variability Through a Multiple-Input Multiple-Output FMCW Radar

• Published in: IEEE access Vol. 12; pp. 178062 - 178079
• Main Authors: Vignoli, Elia, Guerzoni, Giorgio, Matteo Vitetta, Giorgio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Piscataway IEEE 2024; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Band-pass filters; Beamforming; Biomedical engineering; Biomedical monitoring; biomedical signal processing; Chirp; Continuous radiation; Doppler radar; Electrocardiography; electronic healthcare; Estimation; Frequency modulation; Heart rate; Heart rate variability; Indexes; millimeter wave radar; Monitoring; Noise monitoring; Radar; Radar antennas; radar remote sensing; signal denoising; Signal to noise ratio; Wiener filters
• ISSN: 2169-3536; 2169-3536
• DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3507365

In this manuscript, the problem of assessing the heart rate variability (HRV) of a single subject using a colocated multiple-input multiple-output radar of frequency modulated continuous wave type is investigated. The proposed solution exploits beamforming to acquire multiple measurements from different points on the body of the monitored subject. These measurements are combined using a selection strategy that aims at reducing the impact of random body movements while enhancing the overall signal-to-noise ratio. The resulting signal is then filtered using a physiology-inspired filter. Our results demonstrate that the proposed estimation method can accurately identify the instants at which heartbeats occur and achieve accuracy similar to a regular electrocardiogram in terms of specific HRV metrics referring to interbeat intervals.