Japanese scientists at Kyoto University and Panasonic have developed a new technology that can measure a person’s heart rate from a distance, without any contact or inconvenience. The researchers hope that one day vital signs will be automatically captured as people walk by a sensor, letting clinics evaluate patients faster and allowing people themselves to keep an easier eye on their health.
The new device uses millimeter-wave spread-spectrum radar, the returning signal being a mess that has been previously impossible to get a sense of. The researchers wrote algorithms that are able to process and detangle this data, extracting the tell-tale signs of heartbeats from the signals and measuring their period.
The next step is to further perfect the algorithm to be effective with the entire population, from young to old, and in different and unusual environments.
Via: Kyoto University…