Researchers at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom have recently developed a miniature electrocardiograph that can detect human heart beats within a meter. In addition, the detector can also be performed within 3 mm of the skull.

The research staff hopes that this device, known as the "electronic potential sensor", can be used in home remote health care, so that people can perform body index tests autonomously even without the presence of medical staff. The research Central Staff Officer, Peter Lane, said: "It's a bit like the technology used in the film Star Trek. You can know your heartbeat data simply by scanning your skin with a device."

Current medical tests require physical contact. To hear the patient's heartbeat, one must use a stethoscope; to learn more about the currents of the heart, it is necessary to use an electrocardiogram (ECG), which requires the use of at least one well-trained medical staff with an extraordinary conductive glue. The patient's body is affixed with 12 electrodes, and in order to ensure the strength of the signal, it is necessary to shave a body of body hair. In the electroencephalogram (EEG) test, too, the healthcare worker must attach a large number of electrodes to the patient's scalp.

New electronic potential sensors may make this all history. This coin-sized detector can detect extremely small changes in the body's electric field. After being amplified via its internal amplification circuit, relevant data can be transmitted directly to distant health care workers via telephone lines or the Internet.