We present a full-polymer respiratory monitoring device suited for application in environments with strong magnetic fields (e.g., during an MRI measurement). The sensor is based on the well-known evanescent field method and consists of a 1 mm plastic optical fiber with a bent region where the cladding is removed and the fiber is coated with poly-dimethylacrylamide (PDMAA). The combination of materials allows for a mass-production of the device by spray-coating and enables integration in disposable medical devices like oxygen masks, which we demonstrate here. We also present results of the application of an autocorrelation-based algorithm for respiratory frequency determination that is relevant for real applications of the device.
Keywords: evanescent wave sensor; humidity sensor; planar systems; polymer optics; waveguides.