Abstract: Attributes of a human or animal body are detected by the generation and detection of an electric field. A laminated membrane (202), connected to a control circuit, is placed over an electrically conductive ground-plane (201). An upper-mattress (203) is placed above this for supporting a human or animal body. To improve the response of the detector, a response-enhancement-layer (204) of a substantially electrically non-conducting compressible-material containing electrically-conductive-particles, such as carbon particles, is located between the laminated-membrane (202) and the upper-mattress (203).

Abstract: A flexible dome-shaped substrate (301) defines an internal surface (403) arranged to accommodate breast tissue. A set of substantially circular electrodes (411, 412) are located concentrically on the substrate, along with a set of substantially radial electrodes (501, 502). An energizing circuit energizes a selected transmitter electrode to propagate an electric field through a detection region of the breast tissue during a coupling operation. A monitoring circuit receives an output signal from a selected receiver electrode. Positions are identified within the detection region by coordinates established by the substantially circular electrodes and the substantially radial electrodes. This allows irregularities to be identified and located.