There is a growing demand for cost-effective flexible pressure sensors. These devices have wide potential applicability, including in smart textiles, touch screens, artificial skins , and wearable health monitoring technologies. Electrical measurements have recently been used to measure the pressure-induced surface deformation of conductive membranes. In particular, electrical impedance tomography (EIT) has been used to develop flexible pressure sensors, because it allows the electromechanical behavior of an electrically conducting film to be monitored. When a pressure-sensitive conductive sheet is exposed to pressure, the deformation of the surface alters the conductivity distribution, which can be detected by an EIT system. However, rigorous studies employing mathematical modeling and reconstruction methods have not yet been conducted. We constructed a systematic mathematical framework for an EIT-based flexible pressure sensor. Our rigorous mathematical analysis is based on the consideration of a simple model of an EIT-based pressure-sensor using a thin, flexible conductive membrane whose electrical conductance is directly related to pressure-induced deformation. We assume that the conductive membrane is stretched over a fixed frame and has a number of electrodes placed on its boundary as shown below.
For details, see the paper, A Pressure Distribution Imaging Technique with a Conductive Membrane using Electrical Impedance Tomography.