Smallest medical grade FIR sensor opens up a world of new applications

Melexis has released what is claimed to be the world's smallest medical grade FIR sensor, constructed in a surface mount package for employment in a mixture of applications, including wearables and, in specially, advanced in-ear-devices (hearables) and clinical point-of-care applications where extremely accurate human body temperature measurement is needed.

The MLX90632 is based upon the company's FIR technology that uses the fact that all objects transmit heat radiation. Miniaturised far-infrared sensors are often sensitive to thermal disturbances; however, the device alleviates this effect through sophisticated compensation algorithms; providing high levels of thermal stability. The new medical-grade device is optimised for the normal human body temperature range, where it provides medical-grade accuracy of ±0.2C due to advanced in-factory calibration procedures.

Commenting on the new product release Joris Roels, marketing manager temperature sensors said: "Melexis has already shipped millions of medical grade sensing devices and this new device builds upon this expertise. The MLX90632 will be a disruptive sensing technology in many applications, allowing leading manufacturers to differentiate their devices and offer important health-related functionalities."