Читать книгу Body Sensor Networking, Design and Algorithms - Saeid Sanei - Страница 36

The need for biological sensors was perhaps initially raised by the Department of Defense in the United States. In 2004 they announced an urgent need for the development of sensors for early-warning systems and the protection of military forces against potential chemical and biological attacks [43]. Traditionally, these sensors are particular types of chemical sensors and benefit from the high selectivity and sensitivity of biologically active materials.

Such sensors produce an electrical signal proportional to the concentration of a specific chemical or set of chemicals in the human body. Therefore, they should be biocompatible with and have no toxic effect on humans. However, current biosensors are more than a chemical sensor and are often used in biomedical applications.

The biosensors generally consist of a transducer, biological-recognition membrane in intimate contact with the transducer, and biologically active material, which is sensitive to the analyte molecule through a shape-specific recognition. Biosensors are generally divided into two categories: affinity-based and metabolic.