Electric potential sensor detecting at a distance

Published:2012/3/13 22:41:00 Author:Ecco From:SeekIC

LEUVEN, Belgium – Plessey Semiconductors Ltd. (Plymouth, England) prepares to sample an electric potential sensor to detect changes in electric field at a distance.

The University of Sussex has been developing the sensor for more than eight years. The first Electric Potential Integrated Circuit (EPIC) sensors are optimized for use as an ECG sensor and provide a resolution as good as or better than conventional electrodes. And the sensor could be highly disruptive in the marketplace and a key part of Plessey’s rebuilding strategy. It is applicable to numerous applications from consumer electronics in gesture recognition to non-intrusive medical applications.

The technology makes the ultra-high input impedance sensor act as contactless digital voltmeter to measure tiny changes in the electric field down to a resolution of millivolts. The EPIC technology is so sensitive that it can detect changes at a distance and even through a solid wall.

This ease of detection even through a solid wall and clothes or at a distance means that new ways of taking ECG measurements are being investigated by customers. For example, the EPIC sensors could be built into stretchers for immediate monitoring of patients heart rate and respiratory action or built into clothing to monitor stress levels in emergency response personnel such as firemen.

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