Challenges in Using Doppler Radar for Non-Contact Vital Sign Monitoring in Small Laboratory Animals

Assessing the vital signs of small laboratory animals can pose challenges due to their faint heart rates and limited lung capacity. This becomes particularly important during their post-surgery recovery when continuous health monitoring is necessary. The difficulty lies in finding a way to measure small movements of low frequencies from animals without making physical contact, even when they are in various positions and locations within their habitat. This paper presents experimental verification of millimeter wave Doppler radar when used for this purpose. Parametric analysis is conducted for several possible scenarios using a laboratory setup featuring a vibrating mechanical model that simulates the breathing movement of the animal.