Noncontact heart rate measurement using a 24 GHz Doppler radar

Abstract

Current heart rate measurement methods include the use of ECG or pulse oximeter systems. While these systems are effective, they require skin contact. It has been demonstrated that Doppler radars can be used to measure heart rates too. This paper presents the design of a modified 24 GHz Doppler system. The modified signal conditioning board uses a 2-stage amplifier and a simple dc offset compensation circuit. The design removes the unstable problem and reduces circuit noise. The signal processing algorithm used is also presented. Measurements on 16 volunteers were made using the modified system and promising results have been obtained.