Conference Contribution Details

 

RE Imhof and P Xiao
Exhibitors’ Workshop Presentation, ISBS World Congress, Copenhagen 2012.

 

Summary:-

We describe the main features of the Epsilon™, a new instrument for mapping near-surface dielectric permittivity of materials in contact with its sensing surface. It uses a solid-state array sensor to record images with 50μm resolution at rates up to 10 frames/second. Its proprietary electronics and signal processing algorithms map the sensor’s highly non-linear greyscale signals into a calibrated, linear permittivity scale for measurements on a wide range of materials.

The Epsilon™ is versatile – it can be used in-vivo, ex-vivo or in-vitro to characterise soft insulating materials such as animal and plant tissues, polymers, elastomers, textiles, waxes, fats, gels liquids and powders. With the help of an in-vitro stand, it can be used to study dynamic processes such as textile wetting or solvents permeating through membranes. Such experiments provide unique images or movies that reveal anisotropic wetting or permeation effects. In skin permeation experiments, for example, the effect of perforations (from sweat glands, sebacious glands or hair) can be studied for the first time.

 

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