FMCW radar for life-sign detection

In this paper we investigate the use of Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radars for detecting life-sign of people, i.e. breathing and heartbeat. An optimum frequency has been selected to observe life-sign, taking into consideration also design factors, such as bandwidth availability and interference with other systems. A new compact X-band FMCW radar has been built at TNO laboratories and experimental results are presented here, which demonstrate the ability of this new system to detect life-sign.