Contactless radar-based heart rate estimation in palliative care - a feasibility study and possible use in symptom management.

Background: Heart rate (HR) monitoring is a medical standard to provide information about a patient's health status. In palliative care, relationship and social engagement are crucial therapeutic concepts. For fear of disrupting communication, social contact, and care, continuous HR monitoring is underutilised despite its potential to inform on symptom burden and therapeutic effects.

EmRad: Ubiquitous Vital Sign Sensing Using Compact Continuous-Wave Radars.

In biomedical monitoring, non-intrusive and continuous tracking of vital signs is a crucial yet challenging objective. Although accurate, traditional methods, such as electrocardiography (ECG) and photoplethysmography (PPG), necessitate direct contact with the patient, posing limitations for long-term and unobtrusive monitoring. To address this challenge, we introduce the EmRad system, an innovative solution harnessing the capabilities of continuous-wave (CW) radar technology for the contactless detection of vital signs, including heart rate and respiratory rate.

Palliative care and new technologies. The use of smart sensor technologies and its impact on the Total Care principle.

Background: Palliative care is an integral part of health care, which in term has become increasingly technologized in recent decades. Lately, innovative smart sensors combined with artificial intelligence promise better diagnosis and treatment. But to date, it is unclear: how are palliative care concepts and their underlying assumptions about humans challenged by smart sensor technologies (SST) and how can care benefit from SST?

Aims: The paper aims to identify changes and challenges in palliative care due to the use of SST.