The aim of this study was the evaluation of a microwave (MW) device for vital signs monitoring of patients and for MW signal characterization in terms of physiological content and meaning. Experimental tests were executed on volunteers in selected and controlled conditions and with different device setting. In each test session the MW signal was digitally acquired and saved together with true physiological signals coming from standard medical instrumentation. Single and multichannel data processing were applied in order to extract characteristic features from each signal and to identify any significant correlation. The results show the ability of the method to obtain precise indications on small physiological movements such as breathing or heartbeat; the received MW signal seems to offer specific information about the mechanical dynamics of the cardiac system. With our configuration settings, main limitations of this approach come from its low capacity to penetrate deeply into the body and to the poor spatial resolution.
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