Radar-Based Human Pulse Sensing through a Resonator-Based Superstrate

This work presents a novel approach where a superstrate is used to re-purpose a commercial off-the-shelf mm-wave radar by Infineon for near-field human pulse sensing. The superstrate is realized through low-cost PCB technology. it consists of couplers, a microstrip line, and a transverse slot in the ground plane. The superstrate was designed using full-wave EM simulations, along with a numerical-based model to predict the output of the radar in the presence of the superstrate. The superstrate was fabricated, and the combined sensor was tested on human participants. The preliminary measurement results match the expected theoretical pulse waveform. Hence, proving the feasibility of the proposed approach in near-field pulse sensing applications.