In this paper, we propose and demonstrate a new method to monitor heart rate using fiber optic microbending based sensor for in-bed non-intrusive monitoring. The sensing system consists of transmitter, receiver, sensor mat, National Instrument (NI) data acquisition (DAQ) card and a computer for signal processing. The sensor mat is embedded inside a commercial pillow. The heart rate measurement system shows an accuracy of +/-2 beats, which has been successfully demonstrated in a field trial. The key technological advantage of our system is its ability to measure heart rate with no preparation and minimal compliance by the patient.

Date Published: 16 February 2011
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 7894, Optical Fibers, Sensors, and Devices for Biomedical Diagnostics and Treatment XI, 789402 (16 February 2011);

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7894:
Optical Fibers, Sensors, and Devices for Biomedical Diagnostics and Treatment XI
Israel Gannot, Editor(s)