The device that can remotely and accurately monitor breathing: Tested on
cane toads

Date:
June 30, 2023
Source:
University of Sydney
Summary:
Scientists have accurately monitored the breathing patterns
of cane toads in a proof of principle to develop contactless
vital-sign monitoring for humans in a range of settings such as
intensive care units, aged-care facilities, for at-risk prisoners,
or domestic use to monitor people with sleep apnea or infants at
risk of breathing difficulties.


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FULL STORY ========================================================================== Constant monitoring of vital health signs is needed in a variety of
clinical environments such as intensive care units, for patients with
critical health conditions, health monitoring in aged care facilities
and prisons, or in safety monitoring situations where drowsiness can
cause accidents.

This is now mostly achieved via wired or invasive contact
systems. However, these are either inconvenient or, for patients with
burns or for infants with insufficient skin area, are unsuitable.

Scientists at the University of Sydney Nano Institute and the NSW Smart
Sensing Network have now developed a photonic radar system that allows
for highly precise, non-invasive monitoring.

The research is published today in Nature Photonics.

Using their newly developed and patented radar system, the researchers monitored cane toads and were able accurately to detect pauses in
breathing patterns remotely. The system was also used on devices that
simulate human breathing.

The scientists say this demonstrates a proof of principle for using
photonic radar that could enable the vital-sign monitoring of multiple
patients from a single, centralised station.

The University of Sydney Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) and lead for this research Professor Ben Eggleton said: "Our guiding principle here is to overcome comfort and privacy issues, while delivering highly accurate
vital sign monitoring." An advantage to this approach is the ability
to detect vital signs from a distance, eliminating the need for physical contact with patients. This not only enhances patient comfort but reduces
the risk of cross-contamination, making it valuable in settings where
infection control is crucial.

"Photonic radar uses a light-based, photonics system -- rather than
traditional electronics -- to generate, collect and process the radar
signals. This approach allows for very wideband generation of radio
frequency (RF) signals, offering highly precise and simultaneous,
multiple tracking of subjects," said lead author Ziqian Zhang, a PhD
student in the School of Physics.

"Our system combined this approach with LiDAR -- light detection and
ranging.

This hybrid approach delivered a vital sign detection system with a
resolution down to six millimetres with micrometre-level accuracy. This is suitable for clinical environments." Alternate approaches to non-contact monitoring have typically relied on optical sensors, using infrared and
visible wavelength cameras.

"Camera-based systems have two problems. One is high sensitivity to
variations in lighting conditions and skin colour. The other is with
patient privacy, with high-resolution images of patients being recorded
and stored in cloud computing infrastructure," said Professor Eggleton
who is also the co-Director of the NSW Smart Sensing Network.

Radio frequency (RF) detection technology can remotely monitor vital
signs without the need for visual recording, providing built-in privacy protection.

Signal analysis, including identification of health signatures, can be performed with no requirement for cloud storage of information.

Co-author Dr Yang Liu, a former PhD student in Professor Eggleton's
team, now based at EPFL in Switzerland, said: "A real innovation in our approach is complementarity: our demonstrated system has the capability
to simultaneously enable radar and LiDAR detection. This has inbuilt redundancy; if either system encounters a fault, the other continues
to function." Conventional RF radar systems, which rely entirely on electronics, have narrow RF bandwidth and therefore have lower-range resolution. This means they cannot separate closely located targets or distinguish them in a cluttered environment.

Relying solely on LiDAR, which uses much shorter light wavelengths,
provides improved range and resolution, but has limited penetration
abilities through objects such as clothes.

"Our proposed system maximises the utility of both approaches through integrating the photonic and radio frequency technologies," Mr Zhang said.

Working with collaborators and partners in the NSW Smart Sensing Network,
the researchers hope this research provides a platform to develop a cost-effective, high-resolution and rapid-response vital sign monitoring
system with application in hospitals and corrective services.

"A next step is to miniaturise the system and integrate it into photonic
chips that could be used in handheld devices," Mr Zhang said.

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========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Sydney. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Ziqian Zhang, Yang Liu, Tegan Stephens, Benjamin
J. Eggleton. Photonic
radar for contactless vital sign detection. Nature Photonics,
2023; DOI: 10.1038/s41566-023-01245-6 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230630123227.htm

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