The unique characteristics of sub-THz frequencies (90 GHz to 300 GHz) make them ideal for wireless sensing applications. These applications would function similarly to radar, but with much greater accuracy thanks to the extremely short wavelengths and wide bandwidth of sub-THz frequencies. Nokia Bell Labs, Fraunhofer HHI, and Charité are jointly studying how sensing networks using sub-THz frequencies could perform ultra-high-resolution spatial scans in hospital environments to monitor patients' vital signs.

In a hospital room, for example, the sensor network could detect and distinguish each patient's heartbeat and respiratory rate without the aid of intrusive sensors such as electrocardiogram electrodes or pulse oximeters. Thanks to beamforming technologies, the sensor network could, in theory, track specific patients, ensuring their continuous monitoring when they use the restrooms or move around the hospital.

These sub-THz sensor networks could offer several advantages to healthcare. They would not require physical contact with the human body, thus avoiding false alarms from wearable monitors that are accidentally removed. They would provide patients with much greater freedom of movement and allow hospitals to expand continuous cardiac and respiratory monitoring to a much larger proportion of their patient population. The technology could also lead to new home healthcare applications. For example, smart home systems could monitor patients' vital signs and alert doctors to any changes.

The collaboration brings together three leading organizations in medical technology and research. Fraunhofer HHI, an innovator in communications and multimedia, will contribute its expertise in sensor technologies. Charité, Europe's largest academic research hospital, will validate and evaluate the sensor technology. Nokia Bell Labs, one of the world's leading applied research institutions, will contribute its expertise in radioelectric design and sensing.

Nokia Bell Labs is exploring many ways to use the wireless spectrum to create new sensing technologies. For example, a key component of future 6G networks is joint communications and sensing (JCAS), which will enable networks to sense their surroundings. By working with Fraunhofer HHI and Charité on healthcare sensing solutions, Nokia demonstrates its technological leadership beyond the communications business.