Wireless microtransducer enabled minimally invasive medical devices

拟议的研究计划旨在探索高精度，强大的无线驱动和传感方法，通过微型设备用于各种微创医疗应用。主要目标包括开发新技术，以有效治疗癌症等局部病变，控制疾病引起的/术后疼痛，以及实现脑动脉瘤的慢性诊断。成功的研究将有助于挽救生命，提高加拿大和世界各地相关患者的生活质量。 为了实现这些目标，在以前的发现计划的研究成果的基础上，本研究将推进无线传感器技术，以开发具有微机械致动器和传感器的可植入微机电系统（MEMS），这些微机械致动器和传感器使用外部射频（RF）电磁场供电/控制。我们将开发无线微致动器，以实现可植入/可穿戴MEMS药物输送装置，包括小型化的患者自控镇痛装置;我们将探索选择性无线控制多个有源微泵和阀的有效方法，以实现高精度剂量控制的多药物释放。无线传感器研究将集中在通过栓塞弹簧圈遥测监测脑动脉瘤和其他动脉瘤，通常植入动脉瘤，以防止其破裂。本研究将通过开发具有集成传感功能的栓塞“天线”弹簧圈来研究无线跟踪动脉瘤内部状态的可行性，以早期检测血液再通，这是弹簧圈栓塞的常见失败。 拟议设备的微加工方法的发展将是这项研究计划的关键部分。重点将放在开发制造自由形式的三维金属微/纳米结构的方法上;这将应用于形成独立的微/纳米线圈阵列，以实现有效的RF能量传输和目标设备的显着小型化，同时为广泛的MEMS和RF应用提供机会。

The proposed research program is aimed at exploring high-precision, robust methods for wireless actuation and sensing through microdevices for a variety of minimally invasive medical applications. The main objectives include developing novel technologies to effectively treat localized lesions such as cancers and control disease- induced/postoperative pains, as well as enabling chronic diagnosis of brain aneurysms. Successful research will contribute to saving lives and improving quality of life for relevant patients in Canada and around the world. Toward realizing these goals, based on the research achievements in the previous Discovery program, this research will advance the wireless transducer technologies to develop implantable micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) with micromachined actuators and sensors that are powered/controlled using external radio-frequency (RF) electromagnetic fields. Wireless microactuators will be developed to enable implantable/wearable MEMS drug delivery devices, including miniaturized patient-controlled analgesia devices; we will explore effective methods for selective wireless control of multiple active micro pumps and valves in order to realize multiple-drug release with high-precision dosage control. The wireless-sensor study will focus on telemetric monitoring of cerebral and other aneurysms through embolization coils, commonly implanted in aneurysms to prevent their ruptures. This study will investigate the feasibility of wireless tracking of aneurysms' internal status by developing embolization "antenna" coils with integrated sensing functions for early detection of blood recanalization, a common failure of the coil embolization. The development of microfabrication methods for the proposed devices will be a critical part of this research program. An emphasis will be placed on developing methods to manufacture free-form, 3-dimensional metallic micro/nanostructures; this will be applied to the formation of free-standing micro/nano-coil arrays toward enabling effective RF energy transfer and significant miniaturization in the targeted devices while providing opportunities for a broad range of MEMS and RF applications.