An experimental vital signs detection radar using low-IF heterodyne architecture and single-sideband transmission

In this paper an experimental X-band radar system, called DTU-VISDAM, developed for the detection and monitoring of human vital signs is described. The DTU-VISDAM radar exploits a low intermediate frequency (IF) heterodyne RF front-end architecture and single-sideband (SSB) transmission for easier and more reliable extraction of the vital signs. The hardware implementation of the proposed low-IF RF front-end architecture and associated IF circuitry is discussed. Furthermore, the signal processing and calibration steps necessary to extract the vital signs information measured on a human subject are described.