Non-Contact Comprehensive Breathing Analysis using Thermal Thin Medium

Abstract

Respiration monitoring methods that are both accurate and comfortable are highly sought after in the medical field. No existing method of respiration monitoring perfectly satisfies both of these criteria; each method is a trade-off between comfort and accuracy. Contact methods, which require placing sensors directly on the patient's body, provide reliable measurements, but are uncomfortable for the patient, which alters their natural breathing behaviors. Conversely, non- contact methods monitor respiration remotely and comfortably, but with lower accuracy. We present a method of respiratory analysis that is non-contact, but also measures the exhaled air of a human subject directly through a medium-based exhale visualization technique. In this method, we place a thin medium perpendicular to the exhaled airflow of an individual, and use a thermal camera to record the heat signature from the exhaled breath on the opposite side of the material. Breathing rate and respiratory behaviors are extracted from the thermal data in real time. Our proposed respiration monitoring technique accurately reports breathing rate, and provides other information not obtainable through other non-contact methods. This method can be implemented as a small low-cost device for ease of use in a clinical environment.