Approximately 2 to 5 out of every 1,000 pregnant women deliver their babies before 28 weeks of gestation 1. These extremely premature babies have thin, fragile skin and immature organs, including the brain, and require intensive care.
Currently used wired contact-based sensor system for vital sign monitoring in extremely premature babies, born before 28 weeks of pregnancy, could damage their skin and impede skin-skin contact with their parents, affecting parent-infant bonding. Further, babies’ early movement patterns could help us understand how their immature brains are developing. This project will validate a contactless system using mmWave radar technology to measure heart rate, breathing rate, and movements in preterm animals, and in preterm babies during intensive care and skin-skin contact. We will characterise the movement patterns and explore their associations with brain development.
Research theme: Neuroscience and Mental Health
Lead Supervisor: Dr Ela Chakkarapani