A Tactile Sensor for Detection of Skin Surface Morphology and its Application in Telemedicine Systems

We proposed a new type of tactile sensor that is capable of determining the surface morphology of skin lesions. The sensor consists of a brass cylinder with an axial bore. Three peripheral bobbins were machined in the cylinder around which three coils have been wound. An iron core can easily move inside the bore. One of the coils acts as primary and the other two are secondary coils. Change in the position of the core due to surface peaks and valleys causes the induced voltage in the secondary coils to vary. This change in the voltage is a measure of core position and reveals the morphological features of the surface (surface profile). Experiments show that the proposed sensor is capable of discriminating between the models of two different types of skin lesions, namely, anetoderma and nodule, which resemble each other in visual inspection but behave differently when being touched. Thus, this sensor could be used as an assist device for diagnosis purposes in teledermatology systems.