Article

Random Body Movement Removal Using Adaptive Motion

Artifact Filtering in mmWave Radar-Based Neonatal
Heartbeat Sensing
Shiguang Yang 1,2, Xuerui Liang 3, Xiangwei Dang 4, Nanyi Jiang 1,2, Jiasheng Cao 1,2, Zhiyuan Zeng 1,2
and Yanlei Li 1,2,*

1 National Key Laboratory of Microwave Imaging Technology, Aerospace Information Research Institute,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; [email protected] (S.Y.);
[email protected] (N.J.); [email protected] (J.C.);
[email protected] (Z.Z.)
2 School of Electronic, Electrical and Communication Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,

Beijing 100049, China

3 Department of Pediatrics, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China; [email protected]

4 School of Information Science and Technology, North China University of Technology,

Beijing 100144, China; [email protected]

* Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract: In response to the pressing requirement for prompt and precise heart rate acquisition dur-
ing neonatal resuscitation, an adaptive motion artifact filter (AMF) is proposed in this study, which
is based on the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) approach and takes advantage of the gradual,
time-based changes in heart rate. This method is intended to alleviate the pronounced interference
induced by random body movement (RBM) on radar detection in neonates. The AMF analyzes the
frequency components at different time points in the CWT results. It extracts spectral peaks from
Citation: Yang, S.; Liang, X.; Dang,
each time slice of the frequency spectrum and correlates them with neighboring peaks to identify
X.; Jiang, N.; Cao, J.; Zeng, Z.; Li, Y. the existing components in the signal, thereby reducing the impact of RBM and ultimately extract-
Random Body Movement Removal ing the heartbeat component. The results demonstrate a reliable estimation of heart rates. In practi-
Using Adaptive Motion Artifact cal clinical settings, we performed measurements on multiple neonatal patients within a hospital
Filtering in mmWave Radar-Based environment. The results demonstrate that even with limited data, its accuracy in estimating the
Neonatal Heartbeat Sensing. resting heart rate of newborns surpasses 97%, and during infant movement, its accuracy exceeds
Electronics 2024, 13, 1471. 96%.
https://doi.org/10.3390/
electronics13081471 Keywords: MIMO mmWave radar; contactless sensing; vital signs; random body movement
Academic Editors: Changzhi Li and removal; adaptive motion artifact filtering
Emanuele Cardillo

Received: 1 March 2024

Revised: 9 April 2024
Accepted: 11 April 2024
1. Introduction
Published: 12 April 2024 In different countries, approximately 3% to 27% of newborn deaths occur each year,
with about three-quarters of these deaths happening within the first week after birth [1].
The leading causes of neonatal mortality are prematurity, birth asphyxia, and failure to
Copyright: © 2024 by the authors. initiate breathing at birth. Reducing neonatal mortality holds significant importance for
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. global development. Neonatal resuscitation plays a crucial role in lowering newborn mor-
This article is an open access article tality rates, and heart rate serves as a vital indicator for medical interventions during ne-
distributed under the terms and onatal resuscitation. Slow or inaccurate detection of heart rate may lead to delayed essen-
conditions of the Creative Commons tial interventions or inappropriate measures, potentially resulting in severe outcomes, the
Attribution (CC BY) license inadequate management of the neonate’s condition, unsuccessful resuscitation, and ulti-
(https://creativecommons.org/license mately neonatal mortality [2–4]. For premature infants, their organs and systems are not
s/by/4.0/). fully developed, and their immune system function is compromised. Most newborns ex-
perience pulmonary complications, such as neonatal respiratory distress syndrome,

Electronics 2024, 13, 1471. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics13081471 www.mdpi.com/journal/electronics

Electronics 2024, 13, 1471 2 of 21

recurrent episodes of apnea, and chronic lung injury. Consequently, these newborns re-
quire necessary respiratory and heart rate monitoring in the neonatal ward [5].
Existing contact-based methods for measuring heart rate in newborns primarily in-
clude auscultation, palpation, pulse oximetry, and electrocardiogram estimation. Pulse
oximeters and electrocardiograms have a higher accuracy, but it takes 1–2 min from the
birth of the newborn to obtain data using these instruments, which may surpass the opti-
mal resuscitation time [6]. Auscultation and palpation are convenient and relatively fast
but lack accuracy in measurement. Non-contact detection methods mainly include optical
cameras, WiFi, and radar detection [7,8]. In optical detection, using visible light for sens-
ing is susceptible to interference from ambient light and is affected by dark environments,
which can impact detection performance. Moreover, most optical flow calculation meth-
ods have poor noise resistance and require corresponding hardware support. Infrared-
based detection is susceptible to environmental temperature influences [9,10]. WiFi-based
detection faces the challenge of having multiple signals in the same frequency band in the
environment, making it susceptible to interference and affecting its measurement accu-
racy [11–13]. In order to compensate for the limitations of the aforementioned sensors,
radar technology has been widely adopted for vital sign detection in recent years due to
its superior penetration capabilities and anti-interference features, enabling continuous
monitoring throughout the day [14–17].
The detection principle of life signals based on radar primarily involves detecting
displacement changes caused by respiration and heartbeat. The shorter the wavelength of
the electromagnetic wave, the larger the phase shift caused by small movements, making
the system more sensitive. Using high-frequency MIMO mmWave radar enables a more
accurate detection of cardiac motion [18,19]. MIMO technology enhances the spatial reso-
lution of the radar and allows for beamforming, which enables the precise targeting of the
heart and spatial filtering to eliminate interference in the environment. The use of MIMO
mmWave radar in vital sign monitoring systems has significant practical significance in
medical diagnosis, nursing home supervision, driver fatigue detection, and other fields
[20]. However, even though previous proposed solutions based on mmWave radar have
been tested in ideal conditions, there are still some research gaps and limitations. For ex-
ample, the current methods have not considered special scenarios, such as non-healthy
newborns in hospitals, whose heartbeat amplitudes are relatively weak and whose fre-
quencies are much higher than those of adults [21–23]. During detection, RBM in new-
borns has a substantial impact on the system’s detection performance. Newborns have
small bodies, and the movements of their limbs and head will impact the radar echo, re-
sulting in an insufficient signal-to-noise ratio and a significant amount of interference in
the phase information. Traditional methods struggle to accurately determine the respira-
tory rate and heart rate in such cases.
Currently, scholars primarily employ two categories of methods to mitigate the in-
fluence of body motion on the extraction of vital signs. One approach is based on a phys-
ical model, utilizing multiple radar sensors to retrieve physiological signals through the
correlation of signals between sensors. Gu et al. proposed a multi-sensor fusion system
that employs a camera-assisted radar for random body motion cancellation (RBMC) [24].
A regular camera is used to measure body motion by tracking white dots on a small piece
of black paper attached to the subject’s shoulder. The phase information of the RBM, in
the opposite phase, is added to the radar’s demodulated signal to eliminate the effects of
the RBM. This method has certain limitations, such as the complexity of camera deploy-
ment. Li and Lin suggested using two Doppler radars to simultaneously measure the sub-
ject on the front and back to counteract the effects of RBM. With the successful calibration
of the DC offset, the system can successfully recover the respiratory and cardiac compo-
nents [25]. Wang et al. proposed using wireless mutual injection locking (MIL) of two
radars to counteract the influence of RBM on a subject [26]. Yu et al. developed a Doppler
radar array for two-dimensional non-contact vital sign detection using four radar sensors.
It achieved the elimination of random body motion noise in the human plane [27]. Zhang
Electronics 2024, 13, 1471 3 of 21

proposed a novel chest–abdomen joint cardiorespiratory signal method using two IR-
UWB radars simultaneously to detect respiration and heart rate. Considering the signal
overlap between vital signs and motion artifacts, the received radar signals are processed
with the empirical wavelet transform (EWT) to eliminate clutter and mitigate motion in-
terference [28]. This enabled non-contact heart rate estimations.
Another approach is the data-driven method, which utilizes a single radar to predict
physiological signals under motion interference through data analyses and inference. This
method typically processes the raw signals by filtering, decomposing, fitting, and match-
ing them to obtain physiological signals. However, it cannot capture the true measure-
ment values at each moment, resulting in potentially significant variations in accuracy
across different subjects or conditions. Lv et al. introduced a matched filter to invert the
respiratory and cardiac spectra completely hidden under broadband background noise
caused by large-scale body motion. However, this method requires accurate heartbeat and
respiration templates, which are impractical in real-world applications [29]. Tariq et al.
employed wavelet algorithms for detecting heart rate in phase-modulated Doppler radar
signals. The ability of the wavelet transform to preserve both time and frequency infor-
mation is utilized to analyze the phase-modulated Doppler radar signal, giving infor-
mation about changes in heartbeat over very small intervals of time. This method per-
forms well in ideal environments [30]. Mercuri et al. used CWT to identify the locations
of artifacts and then applied a moving average filter to smooth these identified artifacts.
They also utilized a discrete wavelet transform (DWT) to separate the heartbeat signal
from the respiratory signal, thereby achieving accurate detection [31]. However, this
method encounters issues whereby successful detection is not achieved even after
smoothing.
In the current research, detecting heart rate signals in the presence of RBM remains a
challenge. Existing studies indicate that the displacement changes on the chest surface
caused by the motion of the heart and respiration are different from those caused by RBM,
resulting in different radar echoes. The frequencies of respiration and heartbeats change
continuously over time, while the frequency of RBM changes discontinuously over time.
This fundamental distinction has inspired us to employ time–frequency analysis methods
to process radar echoes and filter out the influence of RBM on heart rate detection.
In this paper, the heartbeat signals were detected using MIMO mmWave radar, and
an adaptive motion artifact filtering method based on the continuous slow temporal var-
iations in heartbeat frequency was proposed, building upon the wavelet transform for
separating vital signs. This method combines cardiovascular motion models, data
knowledge, and graphical algorithms to explore RBM removal techniques. The contribu-
tions of this article are as follows:
(1) A novel method is proposed to enhance the quality of heartbeat measurements using
MIMO mmWave radar in the presence of RBM;
(2) The non-continuous nature of RBM is leveraged to mitigate its impact on the calcu-
lation of respiration and heart rates;
(3) By analyzing the time–frequency information on the chest surface, the spectra of
RBM and heartbeat are separated in the temporal domain, the continuously changing
heartbeat spectra are extracted, and the influence of RBM is reduced.
This paper is organized as follows: Section 2 provides a comprehensive overview of
the principles behind non-contact heartbeat perception using MIMO mmWave radar. It
includes a detailed analysis of the performance of other wavelet-based vital sign detection
methods and an elaborate exposition of the proposed AMF method for calculating respir-
atory and heartbeat frequencies under non-stationary body states. In Section 3, vital sign
detection experiments were conducted on three subjects to evaluate the performance of
the proposed method. The experimental results are used to assess the effectiveness of our
approach. Finally, a discussion and conclusion are presented to summarize our findings.
Electronics 2024, 13, 1471 4 of 21

2. Methodology
In this study, MIMO mmWave radar was employed for neonatal vital sign detection.
MIMO mmWave radar offers high resolution in range, azimuth, and elevation angles, fa-
cilitating precise localization of the participant’s chest and accurate sensing of chest move-
ments. Figure 1 illustrates the fundamental principle of vital sign detection using
mmWave radar. The surface movements of the chest caused by neonatal cardiopulmonary
activity modulate the radar echo signals, resulting in a micro-Doppler effect that can be
further processed to extract heartbeat information.

Figure 1. The principle of non-contact vital sign detection using mmWave radar.

During this research, we encountered the challenge of imprecise frequency measure-

ment of heartbeat signals due to RBM. In practical detection scenarios, RBM in newborns
overlaps with radar echoes generated by cardiac and pulmonary activities, thereby se-
verely compromising the accuracy of heart rate detection. In response to this challenge, a
signal processing architecture was formulated in this study to leverage the distinct fea-
tures of RBM and cardiac–pulmonary activities. Our overarching aim was to mitigate the
interference stemming from RBM.
The adaptive RBM filtering method based on wavelet transform is depicted in Figure
2. It depicts the key steps of the method proposed in this article. After acquiring echo data
from the MIMO mmWave radar, multi-channel data are subjected to beamforming, and
static clutter is removed to perceive the motion signal of the chest surface. The specific
data processing method for Figure 2a is detailed in Section 2.1. After the raw data of the
chest surface are obtained, the phase is calculated, and the influences of respiration and
RBM are preliminarily filtered out. The result is a micro-motion signal mixed with respi-
ration, heartbeat, and RBM; Figure 2b,c demonstrate the corresponding outcomes, which
are elaborated in Section 2.2. CWT is applied to the micro-motion signals in Figure 2d to
analyze the frequency components at each moment and the trends of each frequency com-
ponent. Subsequently, the RBM is removed through the AMF method, and the heart rate
variation curve is fitted, as shown in Figure 2e, with an explanation of the AMF method
in Section 2.3. Figure 2f presents the final heart rate results.
Electronics 2024, 13, 1471 5 of 21

Figure 2. An overview of the heart rate extraction method by adaptive filtering of RBM.

2.1. MIMO Millimeter Wave Radar Induction Technology

The principle of non-contact heart rate signal sensing using radar is based on the
detection of subtle movements on the chest surface caused by cardiac and pulmonary ac-
tivities. In normal conditions, the heartbeat frequency of neonates ranges from 120 to 180
beats per minute (bpm). When the heartbeat falls below 100 bpm, medical professionals
need to closely observe the condition of the newborn to ensure timely resuscitation if nec-
essary.
It is generally accepted that the amplitude of body surface vibrations caused by heart-
beat motion is approximately 0.1–4 mm, while the amplitude of body surface fluctuations
caused by respiratory motion ranges from around 1 mm to 12 mm. RBM, on the other
hand, can cause body surface activity, with an amplitude ranging from 0 to 50 mm. Radar
echoes also contain various types of noise, including but not limited to static interference
and external dynamic interference. Therefore, the key to successful vital sign detection
using radar lies in effectively filtering out noise. Over a certain period of time, the fre-
quencies of respiratory and heartbeat signals fluctuate around fixed values, while the am-
plitude of these vital signs remains relatively stable. Vital signs exhibit quasi-periodic
characteristics. It can be said that the detection of vital signs is akin to detecting a slow-
moving target undergoing reciprocal motion at a fixed position.
We consider respiratory and heartbeat signals as sinusoidal oscillations, distinguish-
ing them based on their amplitude and frequency characteristics. Assuming the subject is
relatively stationary with respect to the radar, we establish the following model:
R0 + r1 sin(2π f1t ) + r2 sin(2π f 2 t )
R (t ) = (1)
where 𝑅𝑅0 is the distance between the radar and the target subject, 𝑟𝑟1 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠(2𝜋𝜋𝑓𝑓1 𝑡𝑡) is the res-
piratory signal, 𝑟𝑟2 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠(2𝜋𝜋𝑓𝑓2 𝑡𝑡) is the heartbeat signal, 𝑟𝑟1 and 𝑟𝑟2 are the amplitudes of the
respiratory and heartbeat signals, and 𝑓𝑓1 and 𝑓𝑓2 are the frequencies of the respiratory
and heartbeat oscillation.
The stepped-frequency continuous wave (SFCW) signal is emitted by an MIMO mil-
limeter wave radar to monitor micro-movements on the chest surface and torso. The radar
transmits signals in frames, and according to [32], the transmission frequency starts from
the initial frequency f 0 and increases over time with intervals of pulse duration Δ𝑡𝑡. The
frequency increment ∆f is added K − 1 times until reaching the cutoff frequency
f e = f 0 + ( K − 1)∆f . The transmitted signal within a frame can be represented as follows:
K −1
 t − kΔt − Δt / 2 
sT (t ) =∑ exp  j 2π ( f 0 + kΔf ) t  rect   (2)
k =0  Δt 
where t represents the fast time, and K represents the number of pulses.
The received signal relative to the target, assuming the distance between the target
and the radar is R(τ ) , can be represented as follows:

 2 R(τ ) 
sR (t ) =A ⋅ s  t −  (3)
 c 
Electronics 2024, 13, 1471 6 of 21

where A denotes the amplitude of the received signal, c is the speed of light, τ is the
slow time, and R(τ ) represents the distance between the target and the radar, as well as
the target’s relative motion.
R (τ=
) R0 + ΔR (τ ) (4)
The radar echo is mixed with its corresponding carrier and down-converted to base-
band. The down-converted signal for each frame is then subjected to inverse Fourier trans-
form to achieve pulse compression [33], as shown in the following equation:
A  j 4π f 0 R (τ )   j 2π ( K − 1)  2 KΔfR(τ )     2 KΔfR(τ )  
Sb ( f ) = ⋅ exp   ⋅ exp  f −   ⋅ sinc  T  f −  (5)
KT  c   K  c    c 

where T represents the repetition time of the pulse.

In an MIMO mmWave radar system, assuming the presence of M transmitting an-
tennas and N receiving antennas, the system can be treated as an M × N matrix called
the channel matrix H . Each antenna has the capability to independently transmit and
receive signals. Considering the transmitting signal as
= sT [ sT , sT , ⋅ ⋅ ⋅, sT ]T and the re- 1 2 M

as sR [ sR , sR , ⋅ ⋅ ⋅, sR ]T , the following channel model can be formulated:

ceiving signal = 1 2 N

sR HsT + n
= (6)
where
= n [ n1 , n2 , ⋅⋅⋅, nN ]T denotes the noise component.
An MIMO mmWave system utilizes a combination of a 2D antenna array and SFCW
signal to scan the RF reflections in 3D space. The target’s distance relative to the radar is
determined using Equation (5), and digital beamforming (DBF) is employed to steer the
antenna beams towards the target [34]. θ and ϕ represent the target’s elevation angle
and azimuth angle, respectively. The DBF results are presented as follows:
M 2π N 2π
j mdT cos θ j nd R sin θ cos ϕ
S (θ , ϕ ) = ∑ wm e λ
⋅ ∑ wn e λ (7)
=m 1=n 1

2.2. The Impact of RBM

In current research, a prominent class of methods for RBM removal focuses on wave-
let transform at the algorithmic level. These methods primarily encompass CWT for vital
sign sensing using various wavelet bases, signal noise separation through wavelet decom-
position (WD) for signals contaminated with interference, and adaptive noise filtering em-
ploying EWT.
The vibrations caused by cardiac and respiratory activities, as well as RBM, are re-
flected in the phase variations in radar echoes [35].
4π
∆φb = ΔR (8)
λ
By substituting Equation (1) into the previous equation, we can establish the relation-
ship between the surface variations in the chest and the phase variations in radar echoes
as follows:
4π
∆φb = [r1 sin(2π f1t ) + r2 sin(2π f 2 t )] (9)
λ
During the simulation, ideal respiratory and heartbeat signals are modeled using si-
nusoidal functions, while RBM is based on actual measurement results. Therefore, when
RBM occurs in the human body, the micro-movements on the chest surface can be consid-
ered as the superposition of RBM and the ideal respiratory and heartbeat signals.
Electronics 2024, 13, 1471 7 of 21

Sinusoidal waves combined with Gaussian noise were employed to simulate respir-
atory and heartbeat signals in the ideal posture of the human body. The respiratory rate
was set at 40 bpm with an amplitude of 10 mm, while the heart rate was set at 128 bpm
with an amplitude of 3 mm. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) between the respiratory and
heartbeat signals and the Gaussian noise was 30 dB, as shown in Figure 3a. Figure 3b
illustrates the resulting micro-movements on the chest surface after adding RBM to the
respiratory and heartbeat signals.

0.8

0.6
R/cm

0.4

0.2

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

(a)
3

2.5

2
R/cm

1.5

0.5

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Time(s)
(b)

Figure 3. The simulated signal. (a) The respiratory and heartbeat signal. (b) The mixed signal com-
prising respiratory, heartbeat, and RBM components.

The wavelet transform, as a multi-resolution analysis method, provides different res-

olutions at various positions in the time–frequency plane for linear time–frequency anal-
ysis of non-stationary signals [36]. The CWT of a square-integrable function s(t ) is de-
fined as follows:
1 ∞ t −b
WTs (a, b) =
a
∫ −∞
s (t )ψ * (
a
)dt
(10)
= s (t ),ψ a ,b (t )
s.t. a > 0

1 t−a
ψ a ,b (t ) = ψ( ) (11)
a b

Equation (11) represents the wavelet basis function, where a is the scale factor and
b is the translation factor. The mother wavelet undergoes scaling and shifting to generate
the daughter wavelets. The scaling factor controls the frequency of the daughter wavelets;
higher scales correspond to lower frequencies and vice versa. The wavelet coefficients are
obtained by convolving the daughter wavelets with the signal. To preserve energy at each
1
scale, the convolution is multiplied by a factor of [37]. The wavelet transform has the
a
capability to accurately localize both the time and frequency dimensions, thus offering
superior time resolution for fast events, such as cardiac activities, and significant fre-
quency resolution for slower events, such as respiratory actions.
According to [38], the analysis of the phase difference signal is performed using the
Morlet wavelet basis. The Morlet wavelet basis excels in time and frequency localization,
Electronics 2024, 13, 1471 8 of 21

making it suitable for time–frequency analysis of oscillatory signals [39]. The following
equation represents the time-domain mathematical expression of the Morlet wavelet:
t2
1 −
ψ (t ) = e j 2π f c t e fb
(12)
π fb

where f b represents the bandwidth of the Morlet wavelet, and f c denotes the central
frequency.
The phase difference signal is analyzed using a Morlet wavelet with a bandwidth of
3 and a central frequency of 3. The phase signal comprises components attributed to res-
piration, heartbeat, and RBM, with the amplitude of RBM progressively increasing from
0. The objective of the analysis is to investigate the influence of RBM on respiratory and
heartbeat signals. The analysis results are depicted in Figure 4. For 2D time–frequency
plot of the CWT, peak detection is obtained via spectral slices of each time point. The
frequency with the maximum spectral peak within the newborn heart rate range (80–180
bpm) is taken as the heart rate value. Finally, the results are smoothed for further analysis.
The magnitude of variation in RBM significantly affects the detection of respiratory
and heartbeat signals using CWT. Figure 4a illustrates changes in motion on the chest
surface when the amplitude of RBM is twice the amplitude of the simulated respiratory
and heartbeat signals. The corresponding wavelet transform results are shown in Figure
4c, indicating a stable and accurate estimation of heart rate without any abrupt changes.
Figure 4b represents changes in motion on the chest surface when the amplitude of RBM
is four times the amplitude of the simulated respiratory and heartbeat signals. The corre-
sponding wavelet transform results are depicted in Figure 4d, demonstrating a significant
impact of RBM on the results. The heart rate exhibits a sudden jump at 3 s, and the maxi-
mum peak does not correspond to the true heart rate, resulting in inaccurate estimations.
Through multiple experimental comparisons, it has been observed that the heart rate sig-
nal cannot be accurately identified when the magnitude of the RBM signal exceeds three
times that of the respiratory and heartbeat signals.

3 5

2.5
4

2
3
R/cm

1.5
2
1

1
0.5

0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

(a) (b)
180 180

160 160

140 140
BPM

120 120

100 100

80 80
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

(c) (d)

Time(s)

Figure 4. Phase and the processing result. (a,b) The simulated time-domain signals with different
magnitudes of RBM. (c,d) The wavelet transform results corresponding to the phase signals.

After the increase in noise magnitude, direct analysis using CWT and employing the
strategy of extracting the maximum value can no longer effectively remove the RBM.
Electronics 2024, 13, 1471 9 of 21

According to [31], the fact that there is a higher time resolution in high-frequency compo-
nents and better frequency resolution in low-frequency components in wavelet transform
is utilized to localize motion artifacts. The motion artifacts at the identified locations are
then smoothed to attenuate the motion signal. Furthermore, the Meyer wavelet is em-
ployed for further signal decomposition. The decomposition level is 5. Upon obtaining
the decomposed signals, the frequency of the heartbeat signal is ascertained through the
application of the fast Fourier transform (FFT). The mathematical expression for the
Meyer wavelet is as follows:
ψ j , k ( x) 2− j / 2ψ (2− j x − k )
= (13)

where j and k are arbitrary integers, and ψ ( x) represents a smooth real bandlimited
function.
The simulated signal is processed using wavelet decomposition, and the effect of
wavelet decomposition on RBM is evaluated. The phase signal and the processing results
after wavelet decomposition are depicted in Figure 5. After performing wavelet decom-
position on the phase signal, the FFT spectrum is calculated. The frequency corresponding
to the peak with the highest intensity in the spectrum is considered as the heart rate.
The impact of RBM on the EWT analysis method varies with different magnitudes.
Figure 5a illustrates the changes in motion on the chest surface when the amplitude of the
RBM is equal to the amplitude of the simulated respiratory and heartbeat signals. The
processing results are shown in Figure 5c, in which the heart rate corresponds to the peak
with the highest intensity in the frequency spectrum. Figure 5b represents changes in mo-
tion on the chest surface when the amplitude of RBM is four times that of the simulated
respiratory and heartbeat signals. The processing results are depicted in Figure 5d, in
which the heart rate peak is overshadowed by interference from other components, lead-
ing to inaccurate estimations. Through multiple experimental comparisons, it has been
observed that the heart rate signal cannot be accurately identified when the magnitude of
the RBM signal exceeds three times that of the respiratory and heartbeat signals.

Figure 5. Phase and the processing result. (a,b) The simulated time-domain signals with different
magnitudes of RBM. (c,d) The results of phase signal being subjected to wavelet decomposition and
FFT.
Electronics 2024, 13, 1471 10 of 21

Identifying and attenuating RBM through the CWT and subsequent wavelet decom-
position can be somewhat effective. However, using a fixed number of decomposition
levels still fails to resolve RBM issues in more complex scenarios. EWT presents an adap-
tive wavelet construction method. It decomposes the signal into different modes by de-
signing appropriate wavelet filters, allowing for finer-grained analysis [40]. The EWT be-
gins by dividing the signal spectrum and decomposing the input signal into multiple sub-
band signals through the use of various filters. For a given signal s(t ) , FFT analysis is
performed to normalize its frequencies and map them to the range [0 ~ 2π ] . According
to the Shannon criterion, the discussion focuses only on the signal within the support in-
terval [0 ~ π ] . The support interval is divided into K segments based on the number of
components constituting the signal.
=Λk [ω
= k −1 , ωk ] , k 1, 2, , K (14)

where ωk is the boundary of each segment, ω0 = 0 , and ωK = π .

According to the number of local maxima M and parameter K in the spectrum
of the signal s(t ) , the top min( M , K ) extreme points are selected for boundary segmen-
tation. The boundary frequencies are calculated based on the angular frequencies of these
extreme points. The empirical wavelet function and empirical scale function are repre-
sented by Equation (15) and Equation (16), respectively.

1 (1 + γ )ωk ≤| ω |≤ (1 − γ )ωk +1
，

cos  π β  1 
  2  2γω (| ω | −(1 − γ )ωk +1 )   (1 − γ )ωk +1 ≤| ω |≤ (1 + γ )ωk +1
，
   k +1  
ψˆ k (ω ) =  (15)
 π  1 
sin  2 β  2γω (| ω | −(1 − γ )ωk )   (1 − γ )ωk ≤| ω |≤ (1 + γ )ωk
，
   k  
0 , otherwise

1 , | ω |≤ (1 − γ )ωk

 π  1 
=φˆk (ω ) cos  β  (| ω | −(1 − γ )ωn )   ,(1 − γ )ωk ≤| ω |≤ (1 + γ )ωk (16)
  2  2γωk  
0 , otherwise

According to [28], the simulated signal is processed using EWT, and the impact of
EWT on RBM is evaluated. After removing the influence of static interference in the signal,
the signal is subjected to FFT processing. The strategy of local maxima and minima is
employed to determine the number of segments for the support interval, thereby identi-
fying the frequency boundaries. Based on the obtained frequency boundaries, empirical
wavelets are constructed to decompose the simulated signal. The decomposed signals are
then subjected to FFT transformation to determine the heart rate.
In the analysis of the impact of the RBM on respiratory and heartbeat signals employ-
ing the EWT method, the RBM amplitude increases from zero. The phase signal and pro-
cessing results are illustrated in Figure 6. After performing EWT decomposition on the
signal, the segment containing the heart rate undergoes the FFT operation. The frequency
corresponding to the peak with the highest intensity in the spectrum represents the heart
rate.
The impact of RBM on the EWT analysis method varies with different magnitudes.
Figure 6a illustrates the changes in motion on the chest surface when the amplitude of the
RBM is equal to the amplitude of the simulated respiratory and heartbeat signals. The
processing results are shown in Figure 6c, in which the heart rate corresponds to the peak
with the highest intensity in the frequency spectrum. Figure 6b represents changes in mo-
tion on the chest surface when the amplitude of the RBM is three times the simulated
Electronics 2024, 13, 1471 11 of 21

respiratory and heartbeat signals. The processing results are depicted in Figure 6d, in
which the heart rate peak is overshadowed by interference from other components, lead-
ing to inaccurate estimations. Through multiple experimental comparisons, it has been
observed that when the magnitude of the RBM signal exceeds twice the magnitude of the
respiratory and heartbeat signal, the heart rate signal cannot be accurately identified.

Figure 6. Phase and the processing result. (a,b) The simulated time-domain signals with different
magnitudes of the RBM. (c,d) The results of the phase signal being subjected to the EWT and FFT.

Based on the analysis above, it is evident that decomposing and denoising the entire
signal is susceptible to strong amount of interference from noise. Additionally, using spec-
tral analysis to obtain the heart rate results in the loss of temporal information provided
by the CWT, thereby decreasing its correlation with the variations in heartbeats. Recog-
nizing the characteristics of heartbeat variations and considering the time information
within the CWT, this article proposes a novel method based on previous experiences.

2.3. Adaptive Motion Artifact Filtering

In terms of micro-motion signals, respiration and heartbeat frequencies are continu-
ously changing over time, and RBM frequency is non-continuously changing over time.
Compared to single-spectrum analysis methods, time–frequency analysis methods utilize
joint time–frequency distribution to describe the transient characteristics of time series
signals and estimate the instantaneous frequency to capture the trends of frequency
changes for different signal components over time. The instantaneous frequencies of
heartbeat and RBM signals differ at different moments. The energy of the heartbeat signal
remains relatively constant, while the energy of RBM randomly fluctuates with the mag-
nitude of motion. Therefore, during moments of high-energy RBM, the components of
heartbeat frequency can be overshadowed. The objective of this research is to separate the
frequency components of the heartbeat signal from other sources, such as respiratory mo-
tion, RBM, and noise. Therefore, we propose the AMF method.
When analyzing the signal using CWT, multiple components may be present in the
resulting spectrum. To address interference from other components, a detection process
is employed to identify spectral peaks within each time–frequency slice. These peaks are
then compared with the peaks from adjacent time slices. Subsequently, the components
are divided, and the constituent components within the signal are determined. Based on
Electronics 2024, 13, 1471 12 of 21

the characteristics of heart rate frequency variations, the component corresponding to the
heartbeat signal is identified.
In the obtained spectrum peaks, it is not possible to solely differentiate clutter signal
components from heartbeat signal components based on the intensity of the peaks due to
the influence of clutter components’ strength. To address this issue, a method is proposed
to distinguish different signal components based on the frequency variation relationship
among the components. Consequently, a signal component segmentation approach uti-
lizing image processing techniques is employed [41]. The specific algorithmic procedure
is outlined as follows:
(a) Determine the position of each spectral peak at every time point;
(b) The spectral peaks within the time at t are selected as the starting points for com-
ponent fitting;
(c) Along the temporal axis, the frequency of the spectral peak corresponding to tk and
the differences in spectral peak frequencies between [tk +1 , tk + 2 , tk + 3 ] are calculated, re-
spectively. The spectral peak with the smallest difference is selected for fitting;
(d) The process described in (c) is repeated until all time points have been traversed;
(e) The peak-to-peak value of the fitted curve is calculated, and the signal component
with the smallest peak-to-peak value is selected as the heart rate curve.
The impact of different intensities of the RBM on the algorithm performance varies.
Figure 7a illustrates the motion variation on the chest surface when the simulated respir-
atory and heartbeat signals overlap with the RBM signal with an amplitude of 1. The pro-
cessing result is shown in Figure 7c, in which the heart rate continuously changes over
time and can be accurately extracted. In Figure 7b, the chest surface motion is depicted
when the simulated respiratory and heartbeat signals overlap with the RBM signal with
an amplitude of 6. The processing result is shown in Figure 7d, in which the spectral peak
corresponding to the heartbeat signal is completely submerged after 6 s, making it impos-
sible to extract the peak information and obtain accurate estimations. Through multiple
experimental comparisons, it was observed that when the amplitude of the RBM signal
exceeds five times the amplitude of the respiratory and heartbeat signals, the heart rate
signal cannot be accurately identified.

Figure 7. Phase and the processing result. (a,b) The simulated time-domain signals with different
magnitudes of RBM. (c,d) The results of the phase signal being subjected to the AMF.
Electronics 2024, 13, 1471 13 of 21

The impact of low-amplitude RBM on the algorithm is relatively small. However, as

the RBM amplitude increases, the relative strength of the heartbeat signal decreases com-
pared to that of the RBM, leading to the submergence of the heartbeat signal and inaccu-
rate detection. Figure 8a illustrates the computational results of different algorithms when
the amplitude of the RBM is equal to the amplitude of the simulated respiratory and heart-
beat signals. The simulation results indicate that the influence of lower RBM amplitudes
on the class of algorithms based on the CWT can be mostly ignored. Figure 8b presents
the computational results of different algorithms when the RBM amplitude is five times
the simulated signal amplitude. The simulation results indicate that a key issue affecting
the accurate detection of heart rate by the algorithms is the submergence of the heartbeat
signal due to the increased RBM amplitude. The proposed AMF algorithm utilizes the
temporal information of each component, reducing the impact of high-amplitude RBM on
the heartbeat signal. However, other methods struggle to effectively mitigate the impact
of high-amplitude RBM, leading to erroneous detection outcomes.

Figure 8. The simulation comparison results between the AMF and other methods are presented.
(a) The computational results of different algorithms under the RBM with an amplitude of one are
presented. (b) The computational results of different algorithms under the RBM with an amplitude
of five are presented.

3. Results
The algorithm’s performance was evaluated through experimental assessments us-
ing an MIMO mmWave radar. The results were compared with those obtained from a
contact-based sensor electrocardiogram (ECG) monitor and other recent techniques to
verify the efficacy of the proposed approach.
The experiments were conducted in a neonatal intensive care unit, as depicted in Fig-
ure 9, which illustrates the experimental setup including the radar sensors and electrocar-
diogram (ECG) monitor. The participants consisted of three infants with specific health
conditions, as outlined in Table 1. One participant was a mid-term premature infant, who
may have various risks due to the incomplete development of his or her organ systems
compared to those of full-term infants. These risks include respiratory complications such
as apnea and respiratory distress syndrome, resulting from an underdeveloped respira-
tory system. Additionally, the incomplete development of the circulatory system may lead
to complications such as persistent pulmonary hypertension and heart failure. Another
participant was a term infant diagnosed with neonatal wet lung, a condition characterized
by respiratory difficulties caused by the inadequate clearance of fluid from the lungs.
Symptoms may include grunting, froth, and inspiratory indrawing. The last participant
was also a term infant diagnosed with meconium aspiration and mild asphyxia. As-
phyxia-induced hypoxia may lead to oxygen deprivation in various systems, resulting in
complications such as feeding intolerance and necrotizing enterocolitis in the digestive
system, as well as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in the nervous system.
Electronics 2024, 13, 1471 14 of 21

Table 1. The specific characteristics of the study participants.

Study Participants Gestational Age Weight Age Symptoms

Baby1 39 weeks and 5 days 3180 g 4 days Newborn wet lung
Baby2 33 weeks and 5 days 1840 g 14 days Premature birth
Amniotic fluid inhala-
Baby3 39 weeks and 2 days 3710 g 4 days
tion, mild suffocation

Figure 9. The experimental environment and equipment.

The MIMO mmWave radar used for evaluation was the vTrig mmWave sensor eval-
uation kit produced by Vayyar. The radar system was equipped with 20 transmitting (Tx)
and 20 receiving (Rx) onboard antennas, enabling the transmission of SFCW waveforms
in the frequency range of 62–69 GHz. The radio signal power emitted by the radar was
below −10 dBm, significantly lower than the radio power of mobile phones or WiFi de-
vices. The structure of the radar system is illustrated in Figure 10a. The MIMO architecture
allowed for an effective array of 400 virtual elements, as shown in Figure 10b. This radar
system had a large effective aperture, resulting in a high resolution in both the azimuth
and elevation directions. Table 2 presents the important parameters related to the radar
signal. For subsequent experiments, a bandwidth of 1.6 GHz was set to balance the data
rate and image resolution. The frame rate was set at 30 Hz.

Table 2. Radar parameters.

Parameters Value
Frequency Band 62–69 GHz
ADC Samples 151
Stop–Start Min Step 150 MHz
EIRP (Effective Isotropic Radiated Power) −5 dBm
Max Range Resolution 2.14 cm
Max Angular Resolution 6.7°
Electronics 2024, 13, 1471 15 of 21

Tx20 … Tx2 Tx1

Rx21 Tx Waveform
MPU
Generator

Rx22

Digital
…

USB
Front End
Rx40

(a) (b)

Figure 10. Radar internal structure. (a) Radar system structure. (b) Radar virtual antenna array
element.

The accuracy of non-contact vital sign detection results needs to be compared with
that of the gold standard, contact-based heart rate measurements. Accurate heart rate
readings were obtained using the ePM 10 Neo patient monitor manufactured by Mindray.
The laptop computer was utilized for radar data acquisition and processing. The radar
measurements were synchronized with the reference values provided by the patient mon-
itor through the computer and the electrocardiogram (ECG) monitor’s internal clock.
After recording the data, the multi-channel data underwent beamforming pro-
cessing, aligning the beams towards the subject’s chest. The resulting echoes from the
beamforming process were extracted, and after removing the static clutter, the phase in-
formation on the surface of the subject’s chest was obtained, as depicted in Figure 11. Fig-
ure 11 consists of nine phase results, and each row represents the phase information of a
different newborn. Rows 1 to 3 correspond to baby 1, baby 2, and baby 3, respectively,
while each column represents a specific state. The first column represents the phase vari-
ation in a stationary state, whereas the second and third columns represent the phase var-
iation during the occurrence of RBM.
The first-order differencing technique was applied to the phase on the chest surface
to accentuate the heartbeat details. Then a signal analysis using the CWT was performed,
as illustrated in Figure 12. During periods of relative stillness, the intensity of the heart-
beat frequency component was relatively high. However, when the subjects experienced
RBM, the intensity of the heartbeat frequency component varied at different time points
and was sometimes overshadowed by other components.
The AMF method was applied to further process the results of the wavelet transform,
allowing for the separation of the cardiac component and the clutter component based on
the relationship between the spectral peaks at adjacent time points. Figure 13 illustrates
the extraction results of the CWT spectral peaks shown in Figure 12, as well as the final
obtained cardiac component. From Figure 13, it can be observed that the acquisition of the
cardiac component is not influenced by its intensity. Even when the intensity of the car-
diac component is lower than that of other components, as long as the cardiac component
is not completely overshadowed, it can be obtained through the continuous characteristics
of the heartbeat.
Electronics 2024, 13, 1471 16 of 21

Figure 11. The phase variations on the surface of the chest under different states were observed
across different subjects. Rows 1 to 3 correspond to babies 1 to 3. Column 1 corresponds to the sta-
tionary state, and columns 2 and 3 correspond to the RBM state.

Figure 12. Signal analysis using the CWT was applied to examine the variations across different
subjects and states. Rows 1 to 3 correspond to babies 1 to 3. Column 1 corresponds to the stationary
state, and columns 2 and 3 correspond to the RBM state.
Electronics 2024, 13, 1471 17 of 21

Figure 13. The processing results after applying the AMF method for different subjects under vari-
ous states. Rows 1 to 3 correspond to babies 1 to 3. Column 1 corresponds to the stationary state,
and columns 2 and 3 correspond to the RBM state.

The final results demonstrate that the proposed method successfully extracts the car-
diac component, which closely aligns with the heartbeat measurements obtained through
ECG, as depicted in Figure 14. In comparison to other methods, the proposed approach
fully utilizes the temporal and frequency characteristics of the signal. By decomposing the
signal, it effectively captures the frequency components at different time points and ex-
hibits an advantage in removing clutter components. Furthermore, it enables the assess-
ment of temporal variations in heart rate.

Figure 14. The comparison results between the AMF and other methods. Rows 1 to 3 correspond to
babies 1 to 3. Column 1 corresponds to the stationary state, and columns 2 and 3 correspond to the
RBM state.
Electronics 2024, 13, 1471 18 of 21

After acquiring the cardiac signal, the accuracy ( ACC ), average absolute error ( MAE
), and root mean square error ( RMSE ) of the measurement results were calculated [42,43].
The formulas for these calculations are shown as Equations (16)–(18).

HRest − HRref
ACC = 1 − (17)
HRref

1
MAE
=
N
∑ HR est − HRref (18)

1
RMSE
=
N
∑ ( HR est − HRref ).2 (19)

In order to further quantify the performance of the proposed adaptive RBM removal
method, multiple experiments were conducted using different subjects and various mo-
tion states. The first set of experiments involved subjects in a stationary state, while the
second set included subjects experiencing RBM, such as newborn hiccups, tremors, sei-
zures, and limb movements. The accuracy of the HR measurements for the multiple sets
of data in the stationary state was 97%, while in the motion state, they had a high accuracy
of 96%. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of the results was conducted.
The performance of the AMF method across different individuals is elaborated in
Table 3. The results indicate minimal variations in HR accuracy across the different states
among the individuals. However, significant differences were observed in the MAE and
RMSE among the different individuals, with baby 2 exhibiting particularly exceptional
results. A further analysis of the individual’s condition revealed that baby 2 was a prem-
ature infant with a low level of muscle tone and reduced physiological movement com-
pared to a typical newborn, resulting in a lower activity frequency. Hence, relatively bet-
ter results were obtained for this individual.

Table 3. The performance evaluation results of the AMF method.

ACC (%) MAE (bpm) RMSE (bpm)

Study Participants
Static Movement Static Movement Static Movement
Baby1 96.4 96.3 4.6 4.7 5.4 5.8
Baby2 99.4 96.4 0.7 3.1 1.0 3.6
Baby3 97.6 96.2 3.0 4.6 3.6 5.7

4. Discussion and Conclusions

This paper’s method was also compared with other recent wavelet-based methods,
as shown in Table 4. In conclusion, the processing workflow proposed in this paper
demonstrates a superior performance in terms of its HR accuracy (ACC), average absolute
error (MAE), and root mean square error (RMSE) compared to those of the other methods,
particularly in the presence of RBM. This can be attributed to two main factors. For one,
during the preprocessing stage, the MIMO mmWave radar utilizes digital beamforming
(DBF) to physically focus the beam, suppressing interference from surrounding objects,
individuals, and limbs outside the thoracic cavity. Additionally, the AMF method suc-
cessfully mitigates the impact of high-intensity clutter on the cardiac signal components
by addressing the inherent variations in the heartbeat signal. Although we have validated
the performance of the proposed method in the current scenario, further explorations of
signals from the chest surface are necessary to optimize its performance in more complex
cardiopulmonary resuscitation scenarios.
Electronics 2024, 13, 1471 19 of 21

Table 4. The performance evaluation results of different methods.

ACC (%) MAE (bpm) RMSE (bpm)

Method
Static Movement Static Movement Static Movement
Method 1 [31] 94.1 89.8 7.7 13.4 7.7 13.8
Method 2 [28] 98.1 88.1 2.4 15.9 2.5 16.2
AMF 97.9 96.6 2.8 4.6 3.3 5.1

In the current experiments, the relative angle between the newborn and the radar
remains relatively fixed. However, in more complex neonatal resuscitation scenarios, the
angle between the newborn’s chest and the radar may vary. Therefore, in future studies,
it is necessary to explore more optimal beamforming techniques to focus the radar beam
on the chest and suppress the surrounding interference. In the presence of more severe
RBM, there may be instances in which the cardiac signal component is completely over-
whelmed. Hence, further explorations of signal decomposition methods are necessary to
mitigate the impact of RBM on the heartbeat.
The accuracy of the AMF method for detecting neonatal respiratory rate has been
validated in this article; however, it has been found that some steps still cannot be adap-
tively adjusted. For instance, after the neonate’s position changes, it has been observed
that the beamforming is unable to automatically identify the location of the neonate’s
chest. In future research, it is planned to determine the chest’s location by mining the dif-
ferences between the chest and other signal features in the space over a period of time.
This information will be utilized to guide the radar in performing adaptive beamforming
at the chest’s location, which is expected to further improve the accuracy of the detection.
Furthermore, preparations are being made to integrate the AMF system with other medi-
cal monitoring equipment, with the aim of providing a more comprehensive solution for
the detection of neonatal vital signs.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, S.Y. and X.L.; methodology, S.Y. and Y.L.; software, S.Y.;
validation, S.Y., N.J., J.C. and Z.Z.; formal analysis, Y.L. and S.Y.; investigation, S.Y., X.L., Z.Z. and
J.C.; resources, X.L. and X.D.; data curation, X.L. and X.D.; writing—original draft preparation, S.Y.;
writing—review and editing, S.Y., Y.L. and X.D.; visualization, S.Y.; supervision, Y.L.; project ad-
ministration, X.D.; funding acquisition, Y.L. All authors have read and agreed to the published ver-
sion of the manuscript.
Funding: This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant
No. 62271471).
Institutional Review Board Statement: The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the
Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Ethics Committee of Peking University Third Hospital
Medical Science Research Ethics Committee (Medical Ethics Approval No.062-02(2024)).
Data Availability Statement: The data can be shared up on request.
Acknowledgments: The authors would like to thank the reviewers and editors for their help in
improving our manuscript.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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