Accurate Respiration Monitoring with Embedded Technology
A person’s rate of respiration or breathing can provide valuable insights into his general health. Did you know that you can also determine underlying medical conditions by analyzing a person’s breathing rate.
As you can see, there are many benefits from a system that can monitor the breathing rate. The good news is, there are already such technologies in the market and many of these promise dependable and accurate monitoring of breathing rate.
But the truth is, most of these systems are either inaccurate, have to be adjusted continuously or are uncomfortable to wear. Some, like the spirometer, are invasive (the subject has to be connected to the system) which makes them very uncomfortable.
Sensors based on ultra wide-band impulse radar can be a good alternative to these systems. Embedded engineers say that such systems have an effective range of nearly 2.8 mt. They can even penetrate obstacles like clothing.
Not only are these systems low cost, they also use less power. For example, they consume less than 1/1000th of the power consumed by a Bluetooth headset. The spread of Integrated Circuit Technology has also helped in this regard (products can now be manufactured in large volumes and sold at low prices).
