SBIR Phase I: Millimeter-Scale Wireless Sensor Node for Intracranial Pressure Monitoring

SBIR 第一阶段：用于颅内压监测的毫米级无线传感器节点

• 批准号: 1448445
• 负责人: ZhiYoong Foo
• 金额: $ 15万
• 依托单位: CubeWorks Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-01-01 至 2015-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1448445&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Millimeter; Scale; Wireless

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is transformational, bringing about the next generation of computing platform in millimeter-scale form factor. The proposed pressure monitoring system is built upon a modular sensing platform, allowing the sensing modality to be easily changed to befit a variety of new application space. Therefore, even though the end goal of this project is to develop a commercial product that can be implanted to aid neurosurgeons in treating patients with hydrocephalus, the ultimate goal of this research is to achieve a true 'smart dust' computer to open up the next generation of computing paradigm. Millimeter-scale sensor nodes complete with energy autonomy and wireless communication can enable smart sensors to be connected in the least obtrusive way and distributed in large volume. A successful completion of this project would mark a significant milestone towards massive-scale realization of internet of things, dramatically accelerating the technology adoption and research impact of millimeter-scale wireless sensor nodes. Both academic and industrial community across multiple disciplines and fields will benefit from the new era of computing in an unprecedented form factor. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop and commercialize a complete pressure monitoring system in millimeter-scale volume. One application that can benefit from such a system is intra-cranial pressure monitoring for hydrocephalus patients. Hydrocephalus, a condition which cerebrospinal fluid builds up in the brain's ventricle area, causes head enlargement, epilepsy, and death. Practical hydrocephalus treatment is the surgical implant of a medical shunt which relieves excess fluid into other body parts. The biggest issue with current shunts is the lack of embedded monitoring. Neurosurgeons currently resort to educated guesses of desired valve settings should be or whether it is clogged. This incurs added cost for multiple visits if the pressure setting is incorrect, and both doctors and patients are blind-sighted about the shunt's status. With a millimeter-scale volume, the proposed pressure monitoring system can be pre-installed inside the shunt's reservoir, or injected with a syringe needle into an implanted shunt to provide real-time status to patients and doctors such that shunt failures can be prevented and better studied.

这一小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力具有变革性，将带来毫米级外形尺寸的下一代计算平台。建议的压力监测系统建立在一个模块化的传感平台上，允许传感模式很容易地改变，以适应各种新的应用空间。因此，尽管该项目的最终目标是开发一种可以植入的商业产品，以帮助神经外科医生治疗脑积水患者，但这项研究的最终目标是实现一台真正的“智能尘埃”计算机，以开启下一代计算范式。毫米级传感器节点具有能量自主性和无线通信功能，可以使智能传感器以最不显眼的方式连接，并以大容量分布。该项目的成功完成将标志着物联网大规模实现的一个重要里程碑，极大地加速了毫米级无线传感器节点的技术采用和研究影响。多个学科和领域的学术界和工业界都将以前所未有的形式受益于计算的新时代。这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目旨在开发一套完整的毫米级压力监测系统并将其商业化。一个可以从这种系统中受益的应用是对脑积水患者的颅内压监测。脑积水是一种脑脊液在脑室积聚的情况，会导致头部增大、癫痫和死亡。实用的脑积水治疗是外科手术植入的医疗分流，将多余的液体释放到身体的其他部位。目前分流系统最大的问题是缺乏嵌入式监控。神经外科医生目前依靠有根据的猜测来判断所需的瓣膜设置是否堵塞。如果压力设置不正确，并且医生和患者都对分流的状态视而不见，这会增加多次就诊的费用。建议的压力监测系统体积为毫米级，可以预先安装在分流管的储液器内，或者将注射器针头注射到植入式分流管中，为患者和医生提供实时状态，以便可以预防分流故障并更好地进行研究。