Resilient Vital Sign Monitoring Using RIS-Assisted Radar

Abstract: Vital sign monitoring plays a critical role in healthcare and well-being, as parameters such as respiration and heart rate offer valuable insights into an individual's physiological state. While wearable devices allow for continuous measurement, their use in settings like in-home elderly care is often hindered by discomfort or user noncompliance. As a result, contactless solutions based on radar sensing have garnered increasing attention. This is due to their unobtrusive design and preservation of privacy advantages compared to camera-based systems. However, a single radar perspective can fail to capture breathing-induced chest movements reliably, particularly when the subject's orientation is unfavorable. To address this limitation, we integrate a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) that provides an additional sensing path, thereby enhancing the robustness of respiratory monitoring. We present a novel model for multi-path vital sign sensing that leverages both the direct radar path and an RIS-reflected path. We further discuss the potential benefits and improved performance our approach offers in continuous, privacy-preserving vital sign monitoring.