title: Tactile resonance sensors in medicine.
abstract: Tactile sensors in general are used for measuring the physical parameters associated with contact between sensor and object. Tactile resonance sensors in particular are based on the principle of measuring the frequency shift, Deltaf, defined as the difference between a freely vibrating sensor resonance frequency and the resonance frequency measured when the sensor makes contact to an object. Deltaf is therefore related to the acoustic impedance of the object and can be used to characterize its material properties. In medicine, tactile resonance sensor systems have been developed for the detection of cancer, human ovum fertility, eye pressure and oedema. In 1992 a Japanese research group published a paper presenting a unique phase shift circuit to facilitate resonance measurements. In this review we summarize the current state-of-the-art of tactile resonance sensors in medicine based on the phase shift circuit and discuss the relevance of the measured parameters for clinical diagnosis. Future trends and applications enabled by this technology are also predicted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden. olof.lindahl@ltu.se
authors.forename: O A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Lindahl
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Constantinou
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Eklund
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Murayama
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hallberg
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Omata
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D019719:Diagnostic Equipment; D019937:Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation*; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000295:instrumentation*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D010063:Ovum; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D011312:Pressure; D014110:Touch; D014159:Transducers; D015044:Zona Pellucida