Fecha de publicación: 17/10/2013 Fuente: WIPO "miel" A light-based skin contact detector is described, including a boot having an index of refraction less than or equal to another index of refraction associated with skin at a frequency of light, a light emitter and detector coupled to the boot and configured to measure an amount of light energy reflected by an interface of the boot, and a digital signal processor configured to detect a change in the amount of light energy reflected by the interface. Embodiments relate to methods for detecting skin contact by measuring an amount of energy reflected by an interface when a boot is not in contact with skin, measuring another amount of energy reflected by another interface when the boot is in contact with the skin, and detecting a change between the amount of energy and the another amount of energy using a digital signal processor.