A novel magnetic optical detector for health monitoring

摘要

In medical applications, when patients are subject to strong electromagnetic field generated by medical equipments, a commercial mean or tool is needed to detect the hazardous radiation level on the patient and inform the equipment operator about the danger and the precautions to be taken. This paper presents a simple and novel MEMS component which is based on a fiber with magnetic actuation mechanism that can be directly inserted in the human body. The presence of controlled attenuation level due to the strength of magnetic force permits the identification of radiations levels at different locations on the body. In fact, when an external magnetic field is applied to the component, the magnetostatic force creates a deflection of the internal fiber of the component, creating a misalignment between the injected optical signal and transmitted signal. The misalignment is automatically transformed to an optical attenuation and the radiation strength information is deduced. This paper demonstrates a simple way to generate optical fiber attenuation through an external magnetic field applied on the fiber.