Non contact monitoring of respiratory function via depth sensing

Monitoring respiratory events is of clinical importance in the early detection of potentially fatal conditions. Current technologies involve contact sensors the individual must wear constantly. Such a requirement can lead to patient discomfort, and consequently may fail due to a variety of reasons including refusal to wear the monitoring device. Elderly patients and neo-natal infants are even more likely to suffer from the adverse effects of continued monitoring. Unobtrusive, non-contact, remote-sensing-based methods are increasingly needed for monitoring patient respiratory function at homes, which can in turn help to establish patterns over time. We propose to use active-stereo-based depth sensing system for forced flow-volume loop measurements and for semi-automatic and automatic assessment of abnormal breathing patterns.