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Research Projects

1) Rapid and highly reliable non-contact screening system to reduce the risk of transmission of infection

Recently, the global outbreak of infectious diseases such as H1N1 influenza (swine flu) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) underlined the pressing need for the development of a rapid and highly reliable screening system to prevent the spread of pandemic diseases.

A number of countries have applied thermography at international airports in order to detect infected passengers. However, using thermography alone can be insufficient as a screening system in practical settings, since infected passengers may take antipyretics. In addition, there are many variables such as alcohol and ambient temperature that can affect the accuracy of screening.

In order to conduct more accurate and fast mass screening, we have developed a non-contact screening system that can perform human medical inspections within ten seconds. This screening system monitors not only temperature but also heart and respiratory rates. By using three parameters, the detection accuracy of the system improved dramatically.

For instance, in our case control study, the discriminant function of this proposed system is found to be effective in distinguishing influenza patients regardless of their temperatures. The results showed PPV rate of 93%, which is notably higher compared to the conventional screening method using only thermography.

We will conduct further study to improve the system for future practical application.


A non-contact screenig system



A portable screenig system Type A (A joint research project with Kim laboratory)



A portable screening system Type B (A joint research project with Kim laboratory)



A portable screening system named "Kazekamo" designed for a clinical application (A joint research project with Kim laboratory)


Related articles

Sun G, Saga T, Shimizu T, Hakozaki Y , Matsui T
Fever screening of seasonal influenza patients using a cost-effective thermopile array with small pixels for close-range thermometry.
International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2014. (in press)

Nguyen VQ, Sun G, Matsui T, et al.
Rapid screening for influenza using a multivariable logistic regression model to save labor at a clinic in Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan
American Journal of Infection Control, 2014. (in press)

Matsui T, Hakozaki Y, Suzuki S, Usui T, Kato T, Hasegawa K, Sugiyama Y, Sugamata M, Abe S.
A novel screening method for influenza patients using a newly developed non-contact screening system.
J Infect. 2010 Apr;60(4):271-7.

Sun G, Hakozaki Y, Abe S, Vinh NQ, Matsui T.
A novel infection screening method using a neural network and k-means clustering algorithm which can be applied for screening of unknown or unexpected infectious diseases.
J Infect. 2012 Dec;65(6):591-2.

2) Autonomic activation measurement method for stress monitoring

The system is designed to monitor stress of individuals by measuring human autonomic activation using compact microwave radar attached to the back of a chair, without using electrodes. We tested on healthy subjects sitting in the chair with a headphone. The stress was induced by audio stimulus which were presented after a silent period via the headphone.

The study shows that LF/HF of HRV which reflect sympatho-vagal balance is determined by microwave radar, showing increase during audio stimuli. Mean LF/HF of subjects measured by non-contact method (microwave radar) and contact method (ECG) during audio stimuli increases by 34 % and 37% respectively, which is significant increase compared to the silent period. This means that stress-induced autonomic activation can be monitored in non-contact way, without imposing physical constraints.

This autonomic activation measurement method can be applied in a variety of settings, including stress monitoring at work.


A stress measurement chair with radars attached to its back.


A smartphone application named 'Utsukamo". The application assesses a tendency toward depression by measuring HRV using a smartphone camera in real time. (A joint research project with Kushiyama and Baba laboratories)

Related Articles

Suzuki S, Matsui T, Imuta H, Uenoyama M, Yura H, Ishihara M, Kawakami M.
A novel autonomic activation measurement method for stress monitoring: non-contact measurement of heart rate variability using a compact microwave radar.
Med Biol Eng Comput. 2008 Jul;46(7):709-14.

Matsui T, Arai I, Gotoh S, Hattori H, Takase B, Kikuchi M, Ishihara M.
A novel apparatus for non-contact measurement of heart rate variability: a system to prevent secondary exposure of medical personnel to toxic materials under biochemical hazard conditions, in monitoring sepsis or in predicting multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.
Biomed Pharmacother. 2005 Oct;59 Suppl 1:S188-91.

3) Autonomic activation monitoring system using microwave radars for elderly people

In Japan, the population aged more than 65 years reached 23.8% in 2012 and is estimated to increase to 40.5% by 2055. This may create new challenges in the areas of medical and nursing care services in the near future, due to the growing need for long-term health monitoring of the elderly in bed.

Our non-contact system monitors vital signs (heart rate and respiratory rate) and HRV using microwave radars that were attached beneath the mattress of a patient’s bed. The system allows health monitoring of individuals in bed in non-contact way, without imposing physical constraints. Constant monitoring of heart and respiratory rate and HRV while individuals are in bed is expected to reduce the workload of caregivers. Since HRV is widely accepted as a marker in predicting septic patients with a risk of development of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, our system can indicate the symptoms of severe illnesses of the elderly patients with multiple and chronic diseases.

The study has demonstrated that our non-contact system measures vital signs and HRV as accurately as Holter ECG. Since the non-contact system can monitor heart rate, respiratory rate and HRV without imposing any physical or mental stress on the monitored individuals, it may contribute to proactive health management of the elderly people at homes, nursing homes, and medical facilities.






Related Articles

Matsui T, Yoshida Y, Kagawa M, Kubota M, Kurita A.
Development of a practicable non-contact bedside autonomic activation monitoring system using microwave radars and its clinical application in elderly people.
J Clin Monit Comput. 2013 Jun;27(3):351-6.