Unconstrained measurement of respiration and heartbeat using a flexible tactile sensor sheet on a bed

Abstract

We describe a measurement method of respiration and heartbeat using a Smart Rubber sensor, a rubber-based flexible tactile sensor sheet that we developed. This method is useful for unconstrained recording of a person sleeping soundly, sleeping lightly, lying down, sitting on a bed, and so on. Our goal is to monitor those who require nursing care. The proposed method measures respiration and heartbeat as follows. First, we measure body pressure by using the Smart Rubber sensor placed on a bed. Then, the method applies a frequency analysis to the time series data of body pressure. Finally, respiration and heartbeat are obtained by extracting suitable frequency bands. In the experiments, we show that respiration and heartbeat are successfully measured. Moreover, we report that the stability of the measurement method of respiration and heartbeat.