Optimisation of magnetostrictive bilayer sensors for medical applications

Magnetostrictive bilayer sensors have been successfully applied on the skin for the registration of various physiological quantities, ranging from the cardiorespiratory activity to the blood pressure changes. The application region was varied from the neck down to the calf. Thus an optimization of the sensor parameters becomes an increasingly important issue. Here the optimisation is considered with respect to curvature, bending momentum, and temperature of the bilayer. The results yield different requirements for different skin regions. In order to control the cross-sensitivity of the sensor, special sensor set-ups are introduced to reduce bending or thermal sensitivity, which is relevant for various medical areas.