Implantable mechanical pressure sensor and method of manufacturing the same
First Claim
1. An implantable mechanical passive pressure sensor comprising:
- at least one micromachined flexible closed hollow body having first and second ends, said body being disposed on a substrate and describing at least one curve, wherein one of said ends is affixed to said substrate and the second of said ends and at least the portion of the body adjacent to said second end is allowed to move within a two-dimensional plane,wherein the pressure within said closed body is fixed, and wherein the arc of the at least one curve of the body is defined by the relative pressure between the internal pressure of the body and the surrounding environment, such that a change in the pressure surrounding the body causes a change in the arc of the at least one curve resulting in a measurable displacement of the second end of said body relative to the substrate, andwherein the displacement of the second end of said body provides a measurement of the environmental pressure surrounding the body, said displacement capable of being monitored visually.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A biocompatible, mechanical, micromachined pressure sensor and methods of manufacturing such a pressure sensor are provided. The pressure sensor of the current invention includes a high-aspect-ratio curved-tube structure fabricated through a one-layer parylene process. The pressure sensor of the current invention requires zero power consumption and indicates the pressure variation by changes of the in situ in-plane motion of the sensor, which can be gauged externally by a direct and convenient optical observation. In one embodiment, the pressure sensor of the current invention has been shown to work as an IOP sensor for eye implantation where the intraocular in-plane motion of the sensor can be recorded from outside of the eye, such that the intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients can be constantly monitored.
-
Citations
26 Claims
-
1. An implantable mechanical passive pressure sensor comprising:
-
at least one micromachined flexible closed hollow body having first and second ends, said body being disposed on a substrate and describing at least one curve, wherein one of said ends is affixed to said substrate and the second of said ends and at least the portion of the body adjacent to said second end is allowed to move within a two-dimensional plane, wherein the pressure within said closed body is fixed, and wherein the arc of the at least one curve of the body is defined by the relative pressure between the internal pressure of the body and the surrounding environment, such that a change in the pressure surrounding the body causes a change in the arc of the at least one curve resulting in a measurable displacement of the second end of said body relative to the substrate, and wherein the displacement of the second end of said body provides a measurement of the environmental pressure surrounding the body, said displacement capable of being monitored visually. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
-
-
26. An intraocular passive pressure sensor for measuring the intraocular pressure, comprising:
-
at least one micromachined flexible closed hollow body formed of a biocompatible material having first and second ends, said body being disposed on a substrate and describing at least one curve, wherein one of said ends is affixed to said substrate and the second of said ends and at least the portion of the body adjacent to said second end is allowed to move within a two-dimensional plane, wherein the pressure within said closed body is fixed, and wherein the arc of the at least one curve of the body is defined by the relative pressure between the internal pressure of the body and the surrounding environment, such that a change in the pressure surrounding the body causes a change in the arc of the at least one curve resulting in a measurable displacement of the second end of said body relative to the substrate, and wherein the displacement of the second end of said body provides a measurement of the environmental pressure surrounding the body, said displacement capable of being monitored visually.
-
Specification