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

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是变革性的，带来了毫米级外形的下一代计算平台。所提出的压力监测系统是建立在一个模块化的传感平台上，允许传感模式可以很容易地改变，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真正的“智能尘埃”计算机，以开辟下一代计算范式。具有能量自治和无线通信功能的毫米级传感器节点可以使智能传感器以最不显眼的方式连接并大规模分布。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，大大加快了毫米级无线传感器节点的技术采用和研究影响。跨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从新的计算时代中受益。这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目旨在开发和商业化毫米级体积的完整压力监测系统。可以从这样的系统中受益的一个应用是脑积水患者的颅内压力监测。脑积水是一种脑脊髓液在脑室区域积聚的情况，会导致头部肿大、癫痫和死亡。实际的脑积水治疗是外科植入一个医疗分流，释放多余的液体到其他身体部位。当前分流器的最大问题是缺乏嵌入式监控。神经外科医生目前诉诸于对所需瓣膜设置的有根据的猜测，或者是否堵塞。如果压力设置不正确，这会增加多次就诊的费用，医生和患者都对分流的状态视而不见。 利用毫米级体积，所提出的压力监测系统可以预先安装在分流器的储液器内，或者用注射器针头注射到植入的分流器中，以向患者和医生提供实时状态，从而可以防止分流器故障并更好地研究。

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.