Journal of Sensor Science and Technology (센서학회지)

The Korean Sensors Society (한국센서학회)
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Quantitative Monitoring of Body Pressure Distribution Using Built-in Optical Sensors

  • Lee, Kang-Ho (Department of Medical Device, Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials) ;
  • Kwon, Yeong-Eun (Department of Medical Device, Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials) ;
  • Seo, Jihyeon (Department of Medical Device, Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials) ;
  • Lee, Byunghun (School of Electrical Engineering, Incheon National Unversity) ;
  • Lee, Dongkyu (Department of Medical Device, Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials) ;
  • Kwon, Ohwon (Department of Medical Device, Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials)
  • Received : 2020.08.25
  • Accepted : 2020.09.22
  • Published : 2020.09.30
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Abstract

In this study, body pressure was quantitatively detected using built-in optical sensors, inside an air cushion seat. The proposed system visualizes the effect of the body pressure distribution on the air cushion seat. The built-in sensor is based on the time-of-flight (ToF) optical method, instead of the conventional electrical sensor. A ToF optical sensors is attached to the bottom surface of the air-filled cells in the air cushion. Therefore, ToF sensors are durable, as they do not come in physical contact with the body even after repeated use. A ToF sensor indirectly expresses the body pressure by measuring the change in the height of the air-filled cell, after being subjected to the weight of the body. An array of such sensors can measure the body pressure distribution when the user sits on the air cushion seat. We implemented a prototype of the air cushion seat equipped with 7 ToF optical sensors and investigated its characteristics. In this experiment, the ToF optical pressure sensor successfully identified the pressure distribution corresponding to a sitting position. The data were accessed through a mobile device.

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References

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