Apparatus for measuring viscoelastic properties of skin in vivo
US4682608A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 2, 1986 |
| Grant date | Jul 28, 1987 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 2, 2006 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2291/02827
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Apparatus for measuring the Young's modulus or the internal damping coefficient of skin, for example human skin, in vivo, comprises a rectangular frame of non-metallic material to be adhered by means of double-sided adhesive tape to the surface of skin to be tested, and a movable assembly also adherable to the skin surface by means of tape. The frame carries a vibration exciter in the form of a coil co-operating with a magnetic bead on the movable means, and also an opto-electronic movement sensor comprising an optical transmitter and receiver mounted next to one another on the frame and an optical reflector on the movable means for reflecting back to the light receiver the beam emitted by the light transmitter. The electronic circuit includes a frequency scanning low-frequency generator and means for recording the frequency and the vibration amplitude as measured by the sensor, to plot the amplitude against the frequency for determining the resonance frequency and other characteristics such as the width of the resonance peak at half-height.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.