Together with Akifumi Kasamatsu (Executive Researcher) and Issei Watanabe (Senior Researcher) of the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Assistant Professor Yasuaki Monnai and his research group at the Keio University Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Applied Physics and Physico-Informatics, developed a portable, high resolution radar system that uses terahertz waves as a probe. It is based on a novel waveguide architecture that integrates multifunction from beam steering to mixing in one package. As a proof of concept of practical applications, they demonstrated contactless heartbeat measurement by detecting a minute displacement of the surface of a person’s chest through clothing.
This research was carried out as part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Strategic Information and Communications R&D Promotion Programme (SCOPE) (165103002) and the JST Strategic Basic Research Program Sakigake (JPMJPR18J9), and the outcomes were published in the British scientific journal Nature Electronics on January 27, 2020 (UK time).
For further information, please refer to the following PDF file.
Terahertz Radar Enables Contactless Heartbeat Measurement through Clothing ―Multifunction Integrated on a Terahertz Waveguide; from Beam Steering to Mixing―