Low Power Contactless Bioimpedance Sensor for Monitoring Breathing Activity

An electronic circuit for contactless detection of impedance changes in a tissue is presented. It operates on the principle of resonant frequency change of the resonator having the observed tissue as a dielectric. The operating frequency reflects the tissue dielectric properties (i.e., the tissue composition and on the tissue physiological changes). The sensor operation was tested within a medical application by measuring the breathing of a patient, which was an easy detectable physiological process. The advantage over conventional contact bioimpedance measurement methods is that no direct contact between the resonator and the body is required. Furthermore, the sensor's wide operating range, ability to adapt to a broad range of measured materials, fast response, low power consumption, and small outline dimensions enables applications not only in the medical sector, but also in other domains. This can be extended, for example, to food industry or production maintenance, where the observed phenomena are reflected in dynamic dielectric properties of the observed object or material.