SBIR Phase I: Air-coupled MEMS-based Ultrasound Transducer for Assessment of Tympanic Membrane Motion

该SBIR一期项目将重点研究一种用于准确诊断中耳感染的新型医用超声设备。该设备使用一个小型换能器，将超声波能量传输到耳道，以确定是否存在中耳感染，以及是否需要使用抗生素。重点将是设计和优化空气耦合MEMS（微机电系统）超声换能器。在美国，每年有1760万的医生就诊直接被记录为中耳感染。耳部感染是儿童抗生素处方的头号适应症，也是儿童手术的头号原因，在美国每年花费超过100亿美元。进入这个市场将需要一致的设备性能，低可变性和罕见的故障。以及进行高产量制造的能力。这个SBIR一期项目将寻求利用空气耦合（电容式微机械超声换能器）CMUT技术开发第一个已知的商业医疗产品。cmut已经被提出用于许多应用，但很少有超过早期研究阶段，因为将研究设备转化为具有低可变性和罕见故障率的一致换能器性能所需的技术难度和成本很高。这项建议的工作是否便利了调查人员？通过建立快速自动评估CMUT的性能，包括电气和机械。研究人员将设计和建造测试系统，以快速和自动评估CMUT设计的机电和声学性能。机电系统自动评估跨频率和偏置电压的电阻抗。声学测试系统自动评估给定CMUT的脉冲回波指向性和灵敏度，跨偏置电压和脉冲参数。作者建议使用这两种测试系统来确定可以在晶圆级铸造中进行的机电测试，这些测试可以预测声学性能。正在寻求国家科学基金会的资助，使这项具有挑战性但有前途的CMUT技术成为商业现实。

This SBIR Phase I project will focus on a novel medical ultrasound device for the accurate diagnosis of middle ear infections. The device uses a small transducer that transmits ultrasound energy into the ear canal to determine whether a middle ear infection is present, and whether an antibiotic is appropriate. The focus will be to design and optimize an air-coupled MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) ultrasound transducer. The device will be a cost-effective method to improve diagnoses and reduce antibiotics in a market in which 17.6M doctor visits per year are coded directly to middle ear infections in the U.S. Ear infections are the #1 indication for which antibiotics are prescribed for children and the #1 cause for surgery in childhood, costing more than $10B annually in the U.S. Accessing this market will require consistent device performance with low variability and rare failure, as well as the ability to perform manufacturing with a high yield.This SBIR Phase I project will seek to enable the development of the first known commercial medical product utilizing air-coupled (capacitive micromachined ultrasound transducer) CMUT technology. CMUTs have been proposed for many applications, but very few have moved beyond the early research stage due to the high degree of technical difficulty and cost required to translate a research device into one that generates consistent transducer performance with low variability and rare failure rate. The work of this proposal facilitates the investigators? goal by establishing fast automated assessment of CMUT performance, both electrically and mechanically. The investigators will design and construct test systems to rapidly and automatically evaluate electromechanical and acoustical performance of CMUT designs. The electromechanical system automatically evaluates electrical impedance across frequency and bias voltage. The acoustical test system automatically evaluates pulse-echo directivity and sensitivity of a given CMUT, across bias voltage and pulsing parameters. The authors propose to use the two test systems to determine electromechanical tests which can be done in the foundry at the wafer level, which are predictive of acoustic performance. NSF funding is being sought to make this challenging but promising CMUT technology a commercial reality.