Contact-free vital signs sensors have advantages over devices that require cuffs, patches, or other means of body contact. Not only are contact-free devices less cumbersome and burdensome for patients, the devices don’t depend on patient compliance in order to obtain data. Most recently, we wrote about MX Labs Shen.AI contact-free AI-driven platform that combines multiple digital technologies to monitor vital signs. We’ve written about various devices that use photoplethysmography (PPG) to track vital signs. The FDA granted Oxehealth De Novo clearance for its Oxevision PPG technology earlier this year. As early as 2015, we wrote about researchers in Belgium developing radar to detect heartbeats. In 2017, we wrote about a radar-based non-contact vital sign monitoring device developed by Panasonic and Kyoto University’s Center of Innovation.
Xandar Kardian is a radar digital healthcare company with headquarters in Toronto and research and development in Seoul, Korea. Earlier this year the FDA awarded Xandar Kardian FDA 510(k) class II medical device clearance for measuring both resting heart rate (RHR) and respiration rate (RR) with the company’s XH300 6.5-8Ghz radar system. The XK300 also continuously monitors patient motion. The key to the XK300 is impulse-radio ultrawideband (IR-UWB) radar. That’s the type of radar that can see through walls, for another example. According to Xandar Kardian, it has obtained all EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) and EMI (electromagnetic interference) safety certifications. The XK300 uses IR-UWB to measure frequencies from macro body motions as people move to micro nano-vibrations generated by respiratory and circulatory systems, according to the company website. The radar sends 15 million impulse signals per second which translates to 600 data set conclusions per minute. The system software compiles the data for body motion index, respiratory rate, and resting heart rate information.
The XK300 sounds like it could be a utility player as a vital signs device. Xandar Kardian states the FDA clearance for non-invasive monitoring applies to use in general hospitals, all categories of nursing homes, and in residential homes for home health monitoring. The company also claims the XK300 may qualify for Medicare/Medicaid monthly reimbursement for chronic renal disease (CRD) and cardiovascular disease( CVD) patients.
