At the University of Utah an electrical engineer is working on a wireless sensor network that can detect if the patient stops breathing during surgery or even when the patient is on the recovery bed. These engineers have already built wireless networks that allow you to see through walls and now they are looking at measuring human breath in a non-invasive manner.
The new technique will be beneficial to adults with sleep apnea , babies at risk of sudden infant death syndrome and patients recovering from surgical procedures. The researchers have been able to reliably estimate breathing rates by placing a network of wireless transceivers around a bed and measuring how the motion of the chest and abdomen impedes the radio signals crisscrossing the patient.
Neal Patwari, senior author of a study of the new method said that the technique used off-the-shelf wireless transceivers similar to those used in home computer networks. The assistant professor of electrical engineering said that this would ensure that the cost of this system will be cheaper than existing methods of monitoring breathing.
Professor Patwari said that they would use this to increase the safety of people who are under sedation after surgery by knowing if they stop breathing. He added that they envisioned a product that parents put around their baby's crib to alert them if the baby stops breathing. It might be useful for babies at risk of SIDS.
The main advantage as per Patwari was that the patient or the baby doesn't have to be connected to tubes or wired to other sensors, so they can be more comfortable while sleeping. If you're wired up, you're going to have more trouble sleeping, which is going to make your recovery in the hospital worse he added.