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Optical sensing for perspiration

J Vaughan, P J Scully

In: Photon 08: Optics & Photonics Conference: Photon 08: Optics & Photonics Conference; 25 Aug 2008-29 Aug 2008; Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh. Bristol: Institute of Physics Publishing; 2008.

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Abstract

Perspiration monitoring has uses in personal health, fitness and hygiene and is a measure of both physical and mental condition. We developed a sensor that can be worn during daily activity and is unobtrusive, hygienic, with sterilised sensing elements that were easily interchangeable. In this presentation we show the results of stress induced perspiration in a number of human volunteers. Polymer optical coatings to detect moisture were developed to clad polymer optical fibres (POF). These claddings were sensitized to moisture to affect the evanescent field and thus the light guided within the fibre, forming POF sensors to continuously monitor human perspiration in response to changes in environmental conditions, physical and mental activity, medical condition or psychological stress. The cladding for these experiments consisted of a HEMA polymer and the dye was a sodium fluorescein. The HEMA polymer was chosen for its hydrophilic properties and has a similar refractive index to the PMMA cladding it replaced. Sodium Fluorescein responds to humidity by fluorescing in the green at 516nm when exited by blue light at 490nm. For this project we wanted to differentiate between high levels of humidity and droplets of liquid sweat, to do this we chose not measure the fluorescent properties of the dye but instead exploited the difference in absorption of the dye in its dry state and in solution. The results show that the sensors can detect perspiration induced physically in a controlled hot room environment and when induced by mental stress at ambient temperature and humidity.

Bibliographic metadata

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Content type:
Type of conference contribution:
Conference contribution title:
Publication date:
Author(s) list:
Conference title:
Photon 08: Optics & Photonics Conference
Conference venue:
Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh
Conference start date:
2008-08-25
Conference end date:
2008-08-29
Place of publication:
Bristol
Abstract:
Perspiration monitoring has uses in personal health, fitness and hygiene and is a measure of both physical and mental condition. We developed a sensor that can be worn during daily activity and is unobtrusive, hygienic, with sterilised sensing elements that were easily interchangeable. In this presentation we show the results of stress induced perspiration in a number of human volunteers. Polymer optical coatings to detect moisture were developed to clad polymer optical fibres (POF). These claddings were sensitized to moisture to affect the evanescent field and thus the light guided within the fibre, forming POF sensors to continuously monitor human perspiration in response to changes in environmental conditions, physical and mental activity, medical condition or psychological stress. The cladding for these experiments consisted of a HEMA polymer and the dye was a sodium fluorescein. The HEMA polymer was chosen for its hydrophilic properties and has a similar refractive index to the PMMA cladding it replaced. Sodium Fluorescein responds to humidity by fluorescing in the green at 516nm when exited by blue light at 490nm. For this project we wanted to differentiate between high levels of humidity and droplets of liquid sweat, to do this we chose not measure the fluorescent properties of the dye but instead exploited the difference in absorption of the dye in its dry state and in solution. The results show that the sensors can detect perspiration induced physically in a controlled hot room environment and when induced by mental stress at ambient temperature and humidity.

Institutional metadata

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Record metadata

Manchester eScholar ID:
uk-ac-man-scw:48765
Created by:
Scully, Patricia
Created:
12th October, 2009, 00:53:04
Last modified by:
Scully, Patricia
Last modified:
7th August, 2013, 18:54:44

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