SBIR Phase I: Microfluidics-Enabled Interfacial Capacitive Sensing

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力包括为广泛的现有和新兴应用开发新型微流体界面电容传感解决方案，包括医疗设备，机器人或消费电子产品。在SBIR第一阶段项目成功完成后，界面电容传感器可以为各种医疗和工业应用提供变革性的解决方案，这些应用需要高灵敏度，灵活性和微型足迹。通过将早期实验室发现转化为商业压力传感产品，最初的应用针对心血管医学的两个临床挑战，即冠状动脉狭窄患者的血流储备分数测量和慢性静脉疾病患者的界面压力监测。 与市场上现有的医疗产品相比，本文提出的传感器具有独特的优势和功能。对于嵌入式FFR测量压力传感器，这些优点包括减少手术时间、并发症，并因此减少冠状动脉烧灼期间的风险。对于压力治疗的界面压力监测，其优势包括为患者提供更经济、准确、方便、易于使用和佩戴舒适的压力传感解决方案，以获得更好的治疗效果。本小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目旨在开发基于微流体支持的界面电容传感的压力传感器，用于心血管应用。 这些包括嵌入冠状动脉导丝中的微型压力传感器，用于血流储备分数评估，以及具有无线传输的可穿戴压力传感器，用于压缩治疗中的界面压力测量。所提出的与导丝集成的传感器，一旦开发出来，除了通过用实心结构代替中空丝来改善结构完整性之外，还允许显著降低电线复杂性和简化手术操作。对于界面压力测量的应用，界面电容传感器在其成功平移后将成为能够同时测量多个按压位置处的界面压力以及向患者和临床医生提供实时测量数据的可行解决方案。将对传感器的系统设计和制造可扩展性，传感器性能的电气和机械特性以及潜在医疗传感应用的概念验证演示进行研究。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project includes the development of novel microfluidic-enabled interfacial capacitive sensing solutions for a wide range of existing and emerging applications, including medical devices, robotics or consumer electronics. Upon successful completion of this SBIR Phase I project, the interfacial capacitive sensors could offer a transformative solution to various medical and industrial applications, where high sensitivity, flexibility and miniature footprints are required. By translating the early-stage laboratory discoveries into commercial pressure sensing products, the initial applications target two clinical challenges in cardiovascular medicine, fraction flow reserve measurement for patients with coronary artery stenosis and interface pressure monitoring for patients with chronic venous disease. The sensors proposed here offer unique advantages and features over the existing medical products on the market. For embedded FFR-measurement pressure sensors, these advantages include reducing the surgical time, complications, and therefore, risks during coronary cauterization. For interface pressure monitoring of compression therapy, the advantages include provides patients with more affordable, accurate, accessible, easy-to-use and comfortable-to-wear pressure sensing solution for better therapeutic outcomes.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims at developing the pressure sensors based on microfluidic-enabled interfacial capacitive sensing for cardiovascular applications. These include a miniature pressure sensor embedded in a coronary guide wire for fraction flow reserve evaluation, and a wearable pressure sensor with wireless transmission for interface pressure measurement in compression therapy. The proposed sensor integrated with the guide wire, once developed, allows significant reduction in electrical wiring complexity and easy procedure for surgical operations, in addition to improved structural integrity by replacing hollow wires with solid constructs. For the application of the interface pressure measurement, the interfacial capacitive sensor, upon its successful translation, would become a viable solution capable of simultaneously measuring interface pressure at multiple compression positions as well as providing real-time measurement data to both patients and clinicians. Research will be conducted on system design and manufacturing scalability of the sensors, electrical and mechanical characterizations of the sensor performance, and proof-of-concept demonstrations of potential medical sensing applications.