Non-contact determination of parasympathetic activation induced by a full stomach using microwave radar.

In order to evaluate parasympathetic activation which causes driving errors, without placing any burden on the monitored individuals, we conducted a non-contact parasympathetic activation monitoring through the back of a chair using a compact 24-GHz microwave-radar. We measured the high-frequency (HF, 0.15-0.4 Hz) power spectrum of heart rate variability (HRV) which reflects parasympathetic activation, induced by a full stomach. All participants had a large all-you-can-eat meal with beverages for lunch within 20 min. Before and after the large meals for durations of 10 min, the non-contact measurement was conducted for seven healthy male volunteers (mean age: 23 +/- 1-year-old). In both non-contact (microwave radar) and contact (ECG as a reference) measurement, HF shows similar variations before and after large meal. Large meal significantly (p < 0.05) increased non-contact-derived HF from 1,026 +/- 510 to 1,893 +/- 613 ms(2) (922 +/- 628 to 1,861 +/- 940 ms(2), p < 0.05). This technique allows parasympathetic activation monitoring for safety precautions.

A novel autonomic activation measurement method for stress monitoring: non-contact measurement of heart rate variability using a compact microwave radar.

We developed a novel method for non-contact monitoring of stress-induced autonomic activation through the back of a chair, using a compact 24 GHz microwave radar (8 x 5 x 3 cm), without large-scale equipment and placing a heavy burden on the monitored individual. Following a silent period of 120 s, audio stimuli using a composite tone of 2,120 and 2,130 Hz sine-waves at 95 dB were conducted for 120 s. From dorsal, LF/HF of HRV reflecting sympatho-vagal balance was determined by microwave radar with the maximum entropy method using eight volunteers (mean age 23 +/- 1 years). Mean LF/HF measured by non-contact and contact (using electrocardiography for reference) methods during audio stimuli increased 34 and 37%, respectively, as compared with those of the silent period. Maximum cross-correlations between contact and non-contact measurements averaged 0.73 +/- 0.10. Our method appears to be promising for future monitoring of stress-induced autonomic activation of operators and may reduce stress-induced accidents.