Nokia has launched a research initiative with Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI) and Charité Universitätsmedizin in Berlin to investigate the use of wireless sensing technologies in medical applications.

The trio will focus on how sub-terahertz (sub-THz) frequencies could detect human vital signs from a distance, opening the door to a new generation of non-invasive medical monitoring and diagnostic equipment.

The unique characteristics of the sub-THz frequencies (90 to 300GHz) make them suitable for wireless sensing applications. These applications would act similarly to radar, but with much higher accuracy due to sub-THz’s tiny wavelengths and high bandwidth.

Nokia Bell Labs, Fraunhofer HHI and Charité are jointly exploring how sensing networks using sub-THz frequencies could make extremely high-resolution spatial scans in hospital settings to keep track of patients’ vital signs.

In a hospital room for instance, the sensing network would be able to detect and distinguish the individual heartbeats and respiration rates of every patient in the room without the aid of intrusive sensors such as electrocardiogram electrodes or fingertip pulse oximeters. Using beamforming technologies, the sensor network would theoretically follow individual patients, ensuring they were continuously monitored when using restroom facilities or moving about the hospital.

These sub-THz sensing networks could provide several benefits in healthcare. They would require no physical contact with the human body, which would prevent false alarms from wearable monitors being accidentally removed. They would provide patients with more freedom of movement and allow hospitals to extend continuous heart and respiratory monitoring to a much larger proportion of their patient populations. The technology could also lead to in-home healthcare applications. For instance, smart home systems could track patients’ vital signs, alerting physicians to any changes.

The collaboration brings together three organisations in technology and medical research. An innovator in communications and multimedia, Fraunhofer HHI will lend its expertise in sensor technologies. As Europe’s largest academic research hospital, Charité will validate and evaluate the sensing technology. Nokia Bell Labs, an applied-research institution, will bring its radio-design and sensing competencies to the table.

Nokia Bell Labs is investigating ways of using wireless spectrum to create sensing technologies. For instance, a key component of future 6G networks is joint communications and sensing (JCAS), which will allow networks to sense their surroundings. By working with Fraunhofer HHI and Charité on healthcare sensing, Nokia is demonstrating its technology beyond the communications business.

“It’s a good day when we can find new applications for our research beyond the communications industry,” said Peter Vetter, president of Bell Labs Core Research at Nokia (www.nokia.com). “Wireless sensing is a fundamental component of our long-term 6G vision, but if we can apply these same concepts to creating better healthcare, then we’ve produced even more benefit for society.”

Sascha Treskatsch, head of the Department of Anaesthesiology & Intensive Care Medicine at Campus Benjamin Franklin at Charité (www.charite.de), added: “We need to have more-flexible and less-invasive monitoring, which can easily be integrated in daily life and incorporated into hospitals’ information systems.”

And Slawomir Stanczak, head of the wireless communications and networks department at Fraunhofer HHI (www.hhi.fraunhofer.de), said: “Sub-THz technology has enormous potential to revolutionise medicine. With its high bandwidths for communication and sensing, it enables real-time monitoring of bodily functions and more precise tracking of treatment progress. This technology can fundamentally change the way we detect disease and treat patients.”