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1. Extracting Individual Respiratory Signatures from Combined Multi-Subject Mixtures with Varied Breathing Pattern Using Independent Component Analysis with the JADE Algorithm

   https://doi.org/10.1109/APMC47863.2020.9331715  

   Islam, Shekh M.; Lubecke, Victor M. (December 2020, 2020 IEEE Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference (APMC))

   null (Ed.)

   Concurrent respiration monitoring of multiple subjects remains a challenge in microwave Doppler radar-based non-contact physiological sensing technology. Prior research using Independent component analysis with the JADE algorithm has been limited to the separation of respiratory signatures for normal breathing patterns. This paper investigates the feasibility of using the ICA-JADE algorithm with a 24-GHz phase comparison monopulse radar transceiver for separating respiratory signatures from combined mixtures of varied breathing patterns. Normal, fast, and slow breathing pattern variations likely to occur due to physiological activity, and emotional stress were used as a basis for assessing separation robustness. Experimental results showed efficacy for recognition of three different breathing patterns, and isolation of respiratory signatures with an accuracy of100% for normal breathing, 92% for slow breathing, and 83.78% for fast breathing using ICA-JADE. Breathing pattern variations were observed to affect the signal-to-noise ratio through multiple mechanisms, decreasing with an increase in the number of breathing cycles and associated motion artifacts. Additionally, for removing motion artifacts of fast breathing pattern empirical mode decomposition (EMD) is employed, and for slow breathing pattern, increasing the breathing cycles helps to achieve an accuracy of 89.2% and 94.5% respectively. 

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2. Incorporation of Digital Modulation into Vital Sign Detection and Gesture Recognition Using Multimode Radar Systems

   https://doi.org/10.3390/s23187675  

   Brown, Michael C.; Li, Changzhi (September 2023, Sensors)

   The incorporation of digital modulation into radar systems poses various challenges in the field of radar design, but it also offers a potential solution to the shrinking availability of low-noise operating environments as the number of radar applications increases. Additionally, digital systems have reached a point where available components and technology can support higher speeds than ever before. These advancements present new avenues for radar design, in which digitally controlled phase-modulated continuous wave (PMCW) radar systems can look to support multiple collocated radar systems with low radar-radar interference. This paper proposes a reconfigurable PMCW radar for use in vital sign detection and gesture recognition while utilizing digital carrier modulation and compares the radar responses of various modulation schemes. Binary sequences are used to introduce phase modulation to the carrier wave by use of a field programable gate array (FPGA), allowing for flexibility in the modulation speed and binary sequence. Experimental results from the radar demonstrate the differences between CW and PMCW modes when measuring the respiration rate of a human subject and in gesture detection. 

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3. Identity Authentication in Two-Subject Environments Using Microwave Doppler Radar and Machine Learning Classifiers

   https://doi.org/10.1109/TMTT.2022.3197413  

   Islam, Shekh M.; Boric-Lubecke, Olga; Lubecke, Victor M. (August 2022, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques)

   Identity authentication based on Doppler radar respiration sensing is gaining attention as it requires neither contact nor line of sight and does not give rise to privacy concerns associated with video imaging. Prior research demonstrating the recognition of individuals has been limited to isolated single subject scenarios. When two equidistant subjects are present, identification is more challenging due to the interference of respiration motion patterns in the reflected radar signal. In this research, respiratory signature separation techniques are functionally combined with machine learning (ML) classifiers for reliable subject identity authentication. An improved version of the dynamic segmentation algorithm (peak search and triangulation) was proposed, which can extract distinguishable airflow profile-related features (exhale area, inhale area, inhale/exhale speed, and breathing depth) for medium-scale experiments of 20 different participants to examine the feasibility of extraction of an individual’s respiratory features from a combined mixture of motions for subjects. Independent component analysis with the joint approximation of diagonalization of eigenmatrices (ICA-JADE) algorithm was employed to isolate individual respiratory signatures from combined mixtures of breathing patterns. The extracted hyperfeature sets were then evaluated by integrating two different popular ML classifiers, k-nearest neighbor (KNN) and support vector machine (SVM), for subject authentication. Accuracies of 97.5% for two-subject experiments and 98.33% for single-subject experiments were achieved, which supersedes the performance of prior reported methods. The proposed identity authentication approach has several potential applications, including security/surveillance, the Internet-of- Things (IoT) applications, virtual reality, and health monitoring. 

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4. Dynamic Arctangent Center-Tracking Method for Respiratory Displacement Monitoring of Subjects in Arbitrary Positions

   https://doi.org/10.1109/EMBC40787.2023.10340361  

   Ishrak, Mohammad Shadman; Sameera, Jannatun Noor; Boric-Lubecke, Olga; Lubecke, Victor M (July 2023, IEEE)

   Accurate continuous measurement of respiratory displacement using continuous wave Doppler radar requires rigorous management of dc offset which changes when a subject changes distance from the radar measurement system. Effective measurement, therefore, requires robust dynamic calibration which can recognize and compensate for changes in the nominal position of a subject. In this paper, a respiratory displacement measurement algorithm is proposed which can differentiate between sedentary and non-sedentary conditions and continuously adapt to provide long-term monitoring of a subject’s sedentary respiration. Arctangent demodulation is an effective means of quantifying continuous displacement using a quadrature Doppler radar, yet it depends on accurate identification of dc offset and dc information contributions in the radar I-Q arc with the subject in a particular position. The dynamic calibration method proposed here is demonstrated to differentiate between sedentary and non-sedentary conditions for six subjects to produce accurate sedentary respiration measurements even when the subject arbitrarily changes position, once the appropriate thresholds are established for the measurement environment. 

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5. Respiration Signal Pattern Analysis for Doppler Radar Sensor with Passive Node and Its Application in Occupancy Sensing of a Stationary Subject

   https://doi.org/10.3390/bios15050273  

   Song, Chenyan; Yavari, Ehsan; Gao, Xiaomeng; Lubecke, Victor M; Boric-Lubecke, Olga (May 2025, Biosensors)

   Doppler radar node occupancy sensors are promising for applications in smart buildings due to their simple circuits and price advantage compared to quadrature radar sensors. However, single-channel sensitivity limitations may result in low sensitivity and misinterpreted motion rates if the detected subject is at or close to “null” points. We designed and tested a novel method to eliminate such limits, demonstrating that passive nodes can be used to detect a sedentary person regardless of position. This method is based on characteristics of chest motion due to respiration, found via both simulations and experiments based on a sinusoidal model and a more realistic model of cardiorespiratory motion. In addition, respiratory rate variability is considered to distinguish a true human presence from a mechanical target. Sensor node data were collected simultaneously with an infrared camera system, which provided a respiration signal reference, to test the algorithm with 19 human subjects and a mechanical target. The results indicate that a human presence was detected with 100% accuracy and successfully differentiated from a mechanical target in a controlled environment. The developed method can greatly improve the occupancy detection accuracy of single-channel radar-based occupancy sensors and facilitate their adoption in smart building applications. 

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