Foil sensors for the medical sector is one of our major focus areas. From the integration of foil sensors in medical devices, in-vitro diagnostics to class III implantable products, we as accensors are very familiar with the requirements and develop customer-oriented foil sensors in close cooperation with the medical device manufacturer.   

Already in the joint development of customer-oriented foil sensors we pay attention to the new European Medical Device Regulation (MDR) and the IVDR (In Vitro Diagnostics Regulation).

Topics like

• sterilizability
• bio- and hemocompatibility
• implantability

of our foil sensors are well known to us. As accensors, we make sure that only approved foil materials (such as peek or similar) are used in the development of our customer-oriented foil sensors

The requirments in agriculture are particularly significant in the area of robustness. Regardless of whether foil sensors are used in devices and systems in agriculture, in direct plant cultivation or animal husbandry, topics such as long-term stability, robustness against environmental and surrounding influences as well as mechanical robustness are important characteristics of foil sensors.

The possible applications of foil sensors in agriculture range from barn and feeding monitoring in animal production to monitoring of nutrient concentrations in arable farming and plant cultivation.

The packaging protects goods from external influences or damage. Foil sensors which are integrated into packaging do not provide any further protection. However, foil sensors can greatly improve the care and transparency for the correct handling or storage of goods. 

The possibilities of foil sensors are manifold. In food packaging, freshness and condition of the food can be monitored. In transport packaging, it is storage and transport conditions that can be monitored. 

Aware that the packaging industry is a very price-sensitive industry, accensors offers foil sensors in the low-cost segment. In the roll-to-roll printing process, it is possible to produce low-cost foil sensors in high-volume batches (well over 1 million sensors).

From a technical point of view, foil sensors can perform various monitoring functions. From an event sensor which detects whether a cold chain has been interrupted, to an on-demand sensor which monitors the quality of the packaged goods at the transfer points, to a record or online sensor which permits permanent monitoring of the packaged goods.    

Regardless of whether drinking water, waste water or seawater, foil sensors from accensors provide insights and knowledge. 

As stated in the German Drinking Water Ordinance (TrinkwV), different parameters must be detected. From temperature and pressure to chemical parameters such as nitrate, lead or chloride. One possibility is to use foil sensors as Lab-on-a-Chip systems, mobile or stationary. 

In the pharmaceutical industry, foil sensors can be used in different areas and phases. In drug development, foil sensors are integrated into multiwell plates in order to obtain faster and more comparable results already in high-throuput screening.

If you also have an application idea for foil sensors in the pharmaceutical sector, please contact us.   

Our health is our greatest asset. One of the growing markets of the coming years will be the area of wearable and eHealth. We at accensors are working intensively on foil-based sensor solutions that can be used close to the body. Within the scope of research projects we are currently developing a sensor system for wound monitoring as well as for monitoring vital parameters. 

If you are interested in our current results, please contact us. 

In the area of Industry 4.0 and the implementation of IoT (Internet of Things), predictive maintenance is one of the most prominent topics.  accensors makes it possible, for example, to integrate foil sensors into wear components in order to detect in advance an impending replacement of the components and thus prevent unplanned system failure. But how does a foil sensor from accensors detect wear and tear early on? We as accensors can offer different possibilities. For instance, an impedance measurement can be used to detect contactlessly whether there are any changes, i.e. “abrasion”, and how far this has progressed. Another possibility is the contact measurement of wear. For example, a foil material with good sliding properties can be printed with a graphite conductor track. Friction causes the graphite layer to undergo abrasion, which leads to a decrease in conductivity. The progress of the abrasion can thus be detected by a measuring technique. 

Wear components are price sensitive articles, an integration of an abrasion foil sensor on graphite basis makes it possible to integrate predictive maintenance sensor technology in an economically attractive way.

We at accensors have been supporting the laboratory, biotechnology and bioprocess engineering sector for a long time. Foil sensors, especially the possibility to realize hybrid and multiparametric ones, offer novel possibilities in the integration of sensors. Foil sensors can be embedded in microtiter plates or other sample vessels, which for example monitor the pH value, pO², temperature and conductivity of a cell culture. The sensors can be mounted together side by side on a foil substrate, resulting in only one contacting interface. In consumable bioreactors, foil sensors can be integrated which continuously monitor the level, temperature and pH value.

The possibilities of combining sensor technology, actuators, emitter and fluidics on one film sensor would allow PCR analyses to be significantly miniaturised and produced more economically (roll-to-roll production).

Our foil sensors can be sterilized and under certain conditions even autoclaved.