Development of micropower ultrawideband impulse radar medical diagnostic systems for continuous monitoring applications and austere environments

This paper discusses the application of Micropower Ultrawideband Impulse Radar (MUIR) technology to the detection and monitoring of intracranial hemorrhage. MUIR is ideally suited for medical diagnostic and monitoring applications because the emitted electromagnetic radiation is non-ionizing and has both peak and average power levels that are orders of magnitude lower than those of a hand-held cell phone. Furthermore, MUIR can be readily packaged into handheld, battery operated form factors. There are numerous applications for such a device: rural settings with limited CT access; field use where excessive hemodynamic instability may preclude patient transport; natural disaster or conflict events that require on-site triage; and for hospital bedside monitoring. In experimental phantoms and in a small human subjects study, MUIR technology successfully detects reflected signals from near-surface hematomas. These investigations suggest the feasibility of developing MUIR-based systems for pre-hospital or bedside diagnostic applications to assist with early diagnosis, triage, and treatment planning.