EBME Forums Forums Maintenance Technical Assistance microshock by ionisation in the skin

Sorry for the delayed response chaps,I've had an extended Bank Holiday break.
Thank you for the in depth responses,to answer your queries the application in question uses a commercially available enuresis device to detect a venous needle dislodgement during haemodialysis and is placed directly onto the patients skin (I believe) to detect the bloodleak hence my concern that given it is in place for perhaps 5-7 hours at a time 3 times a week there could be an effect on the tissues which was highlighted on a recent paper published in Japan :
STUDY OF LIGHT TRANSMISSION THROUGH
GAUZE PAD EFFECTED BY BLOOD OR LIQUIDS
TO DETECT NEEDLE DISLODGEMENT
Akihiro Takeuchi, MD, PhD1, Kai Ishida, MS2, Yasuo
Morohoshi, VMD, PhD3, Toshihiro Shinbo, CCE4,
Minoru Hirose, PhD4 and Noriaki Ikeda, PhD1

Which has this statement in the text:

"We attempted to sense the small amount of blood on a
small gauze pad that covers the needle site. A direct
electronic sensor such as a moisture or enuresis detector is
not suitable in Japan because the DC 5 V power supply
could cause a microshock by ionization in the skin."