Smart Health Monitoring System Considering Privacy Without Using Camera

In an aging society, the demand for technology to monitor the behavior of people in nursing homes and hospitals is on the rise. Meanwhile, the use of cameras for monitoring is not commonplace due to concerns regarding the privacy of occupants. In this study, we report the development of a behavior detection technology equivalent to a camera while protecting privacy using a millimeter-wave sensor. Conventional millimeter-wave sensors can only detect large movements, such as standing and supine positions, whereas the developed pose estimation technology can estimate human skeleton coordinates in three dimensions from millimeter-wave signal data and can detect the movements of the arms and legs in detail. The system provides immediate alerts when a person encounters a dangerous situation, such as a fall. We also conduct demonstration tests using the technology at a hospital to promote peaceful and healthy living conditions for people living in nursing homes and hospitals.