Transducer and Measurement Technology

Assignment

Implantable Blood Pressure

Sensor
Submitted by Akshay Varshney
(2012A8PS772G)

Introduction
Microfabricated pressure sensors comprise a small but useful subset
of integrated circuits. Integrated sensors of high quality can be very
sensitive to pressure changes, making them ideal for applications in
which bulky machined sensors are not able to perform, or are too
large, or consume too much power. Some mechanical sensors are
based on micromachining techniques. Another kind of vacuum
sensor is made from a micromachined floating membrane .
Approximately ten million people suffer from hypertonia (high blood
pressure) in Germany. Hypertension is a disease affecting many
people, and the risk increases with age. Hypertension is defined as
a systolic blood pressure greater that 140 mmHg and a diastolic
pressure of 90 mmHg. Left untreated, it can lead to stroke, heart
attack, congestive heart failure, and kidney failure.
(Article from Fully implantable blood pressure sensor
for hypertonic patients by H. Fassbender)
About 1% of these patients can hardly be stabilized on drugs and a
long term monitoring is advisable. Up to now conventional
extracorporeal systems are used which tend to be a handicap for
affected patients due to their size especially at night. A system
consisting of an implant and an external reader station was
developed to realize a comfortable 24/7 monitoring for these
patients without these drawbacks of the extracorporeal systems.
The implant is designed to be placed into the femoral artery.

Principle
When standard or modified CMOS or bipolar processes are used in
order to fabricate the sensor, signal processing can be done at the
source. On-chip amplification of the signal is the first necessary step
to ensure minimizing the effect of noise on the output. On-chip
circuitry is also necessary in a high-quality system to compensate
for temperature variation. Temperature-dependent behavior is seen
as the limiting factor in integrated sensors. Band gap reference
circuits are designed which have a negative temperature
coefficient. This is added to the output to compensate for the
positive temperature coefficient of the sensor. The voltage
reference can either be designed by circuit and material analysis to
compensate for the expected temperature dependence of the
sensor, or it can be made programmable and the chip can be
calibrated after manufacturing. High-performance systems often
have band gap references which are tuned after manufacture by
laser trimming. This of course adds to the cost of the device.
The active sensor in this unit is the pressure transducer. It has a
membrane which flexes as pressure changes. This sensor is
arranged to measure differential pressure. The sensor produces an
output voltage which varies with the pressure measured in the cuff.
It includes special circuitry to minimize errors caused by changes in
temperature. We provide an amplifier circuit that conditions the
signal from the pressure transducer. With this circuit, the output
voltage from the Blood
Pressure Sensor will be linear with respect to pressure.

System Design
The implant consists of two parts, a sensor-tip and a telemetric unit.
Measurement of pressure is obtained with a new monolithically
integrated capacitive CMOS pressure sensor. The sensor chip is
integrated at the tip of a twenty-centimeter long medical catheter
(outer diameter: 1.1 mm). This tip is electrically connected to the
telemetric unit, which includes the communication chip and passive
components. Data
and energy are transferred via inductive coupling. The sensor tip
inserted into the blood vessel is designed as small as possible to

avoid clotting and minimize the flow resistance. The telemetric unit
implanted just underneath the skin guarantees optimal transmission
parameters due to the transition through a minimum of skin layers
in the 10e-2 to 10e5 Pa range.

Silicon reed oscillators are formed from a

millimeter-scale paddle suspended by a
thin silicon bridge, which is caused to
oscillate.
The amplitude of the vibrations
are highly
sensitive to pressure
changes, and make a
good sensor for
measuring vacuums

Application
Microfabricated blood pressure sensors are routinely used in clinical
practice. They represent one of the few areas where
microfabrication has already made a large impact on clinical
medicine. Other applications in this includes devices or instruments
with primarily medical purposes, are less well established in clinical
medicine, and their acceptance will continue to remain a challenge.
Improved monitoring and diagnostics lead to earlier detection and
efficient treatment. Frequently the target measurement is most
accurately obtained through internal detection. Allows the doctor to
analyze the patients blood pressure data, and determine if any
lifestyle factors (such as diet) are affecting their condition. Help the
doctor develop individualized treatment. Could also be useful in
treating other cardiovascular diseases, such as congestive heart
failure.

References
1.Hauptmann, Peter. Sensors: Principles & Applications ,

Hertfordshire, UK, Carl Hanser Verlag (1991).

2. F. V. Schnatz et al. ``Smart CMOS capacitive pressure transducer
with on-chip calibration capability,'' Sensors & Actuators A
(Physical) , Vol. 34, July 1992, pp. 77-82.
3. Jaeger, Richard C. Introduction to Microelectronic Fabrication,
Reading, MA, Addison-Wesley (1993).
4. Microfabrication in Biology and Medicine by Joel Voldman, Martha
L. Gray and Martin A. Schmidt.