Remote Lie Detector

Scientists of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Hebrew University) have demonstrated the possibility of remote registration of a galvanic skin reflex reflecting the physiological state and emotional status of a person. Perhaps this discovery will help in the development of methods for remote monitoring of the condition of patients, assessing the physical fitness of athletes, diagnosing diseases and remotely assessing the level of arousal, which may be of great importance for developments in the field of biomedical engineering, counterterrorism and security systems.

The key point of the strategy is the unique structure of the ducts of the eccrine sweat glands of a person, which provide the main part of perspiration. The authors found that the structure of human skin is a complex of tiny antennas operating in the millimeter and submillimeter range.

This discovery was made by scientists as a result of the study of the upper layers of the skin using optical coherence tomography. The images obtained using this method demonstrated that human sweat ducts – tubes that ensure the excretion of sweat from sweat glands on the surface of the skin – have the shape of tiny spirals. Similar spiral structures of much larger sizes are widely used as antennas for wireless communication systems. This led scientists to the idea that sweat ducts can also behave like antennas.

As part of a series of experiments, the researchers measured the intensity of electromagnetic radiation reflected from the skin of the palms in the frequency range from 75 to 110 gigahertz. It turned out that the intensity of reflection strictly depended on the activity of sweating. A particularly pronounced difference in the intensity of reflected radiation was observed when comparing people who are in a relaxed state and after the cessation of intense physical activity.

During the second series of experiments, the authors found that during the period of returning to a relaxed state, the intensity of the reflected signal strictly correlates with changes in blood pressure and heart rate.

The preliminary results of the work, published in the journal Physical Review Letters, immediately aroused keen interest among scientists, practitioners and scientific journalists: the galvanic skin reflex, directly related to the intensity of sweating, is a parameter that any "lie detector" necessarily measures.

However, the authors emphasize that the research is still in its initial stages and until the full significance of the discovery is realized and its practical potential is evaluated, a lot of time will pass.

The discovery was patented by the university-owned technology transfer company Yissum.

Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of ScienceDaily

04.05.2008