Body Sensor Networking, Design and Algorithms

6Noninvasive, Intrusive, and Nonintrusive Measurements

6.1 Introduction

Longing for a more effective, easier-to-use, and publicly acceptable monitoring of human physical and physiological activities? Recently there has been an increasing interest in developing noninvasive sensor technology. Great strides have undoubtedly been made in the design of noninvasive monitoring techniques for recording many human vital signs such as brain, heart, muscle, breathing, and oxygenation signals. At the same time, continuous use of wearables and the applications for vulnerable people has encouraged even more nonintrusive sensor designs to be made. For example, exploiting the photonic property of optical fibres and the use of phase-sensitive optical fibre interferometers has allowed a mat to be designed for patients to lie or sleep on. Breath and heart beat induce slight strain changes on the mat resulting in the variation of light propagating within the fibre. This in turn can be analysed using signal processing tools and algorithms to detect breathing and heart beat waveforms. In the following sections some of these systems are introduced and explained.

6.2 Noninvasive Monitoring

Basically, three prerequisites are necessary for most clinical applications: (i) a simple and inexpensive method for collecting biological samples with minimal discomfort; (ii) determination of specific biomarkers associated with health or disease; and (iii) an accurate, portable, and easy-to-use technology for ...