SBIR Phase I: Microfluidics-Enabled Interfacial Capacitive Sensing

这个小企业创新研究（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（包括医疗设备，机器人或消费电子产品）开发新型微流体接口电容传感解决方案。在SBIR一期项目成功完成后，接口电容传感器可以为各种需要高灵敏度、灵活性和小尺寸的医疗和工业应用提供变革性的解决方案。通过将早期的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，冠状动脉狭窄患者的分数血流储备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，这里提出的传感器具有独特的优势和特点。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和并发症，从而减少冠状动脉烧灼过程中的风险。对于压迫治疗的界面压力监测，其优势在于为患者提供更经济、准确、可及、易于使用和舒适穿戴的压力传感解决方案，以获得更好的治疗效果。这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目旨在开发基于微流体界面电容传感的心血管应用压力传感器。其中包括一种嵌入冠状动脉导丝中的微型压力传感器，用于评估分流储备；一种可穿戴的无线传输压力传感器，用于压缩治疗中的界面压力测量。该传感器与导丝集成在一起，一旦开发成功，将大大降低电线的复杂性，简化外科手术程序，此外，还可以通过用固体结构代替空心导线来提高结构完整性。对于界面压力测量的应用，界面电容传感器在其成功转化后，将成为一种可行的解决方案，能够同时测量多个压缩位置的界面压力，并为患者和临床医生提供实时测量数据。研究将进行系统设计和制造传感器的可扩展性，传感器性能的电气和机械特性，以及潜在的医疗传感应用的概念验证演示。

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.