Session: 13-04-02: Applications of Micro and Nano Systems in Medicine and Biology II

Paper Number: 112273

112273 - Piezoelectric Blood Pressure Sensor for Implantable Devices 

Novel Ventricular Assist Device with Blood Pressure Sensor for Children with Hypoplastic Right Ventricle

Bright Katey, Fang Li, Ioana Voiculescu, Alexandrina Untaroiu

Single Functional Ventricle Congenital Heart Defects are the conditions under which one ventricle of the heart is underdeveloped or not developed at the time of birth of a child. When this happens to the right ventricle, the heart is unable to send de-oxygen-blood to the lungs for reoxygenation. Despite advancements in the fields of biotechnology, biomedical designs, and device manufacturing, and medicine, Single Functional Ventricle Congenital Heart Defects remain a challenging condition to treat. This paper presents a novel Ventricular Assist Device with a Wearable Electrocardiography for children with Hypoplastic Right Ventricle. This device is based on a dual-propeller pump, which is a self-expanding device, inserted percutaneously into the total cavopulmonary connection (TCPC) via the femoral vein using a catheter and placed inside the cavopulmonary junction. Self-powered microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) piezoelectric, flexible pressure sensors, attached to the propeller blade, will monitor in real-time the blood pressure created by the propeller rotations in the device and into the pulmonary arteries.

One of the unique features of this pressure sensor is its ability to generate its own source of power. This feature influenced the idea of locating the sensor on the propeller blade. At this location, the sensor will harvest and convert the continuous vibration of the rotating blade as its source of energy. This enables the sensor to continuously function and monitor the pressure flow both in the device and the Pulmonary Arteries into the lungs of the patient. In addition to the above, the sensor continuously sends the monitored to data acquisition system outside the patient.  This information will then be used to determine when the patient is at rest or involved in activities that requires less blood flow compared to other rigorous ones. Another function of the sensor is the monitor any strain deformation in the propeller blade.

The multifunctional capability of the system is based on the piezoelectric properties of the base material. Piezoelectric materials are versatile and have the ability to serve as a single device with multiple functions, such as real-time sensing applications, and self-powering functionality based on energy harvesting. We will use Aluminum Nitride (AlN) because of its high piezoelectric coefficient for our choice of piezoelectric material. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) tools such ANSYS and/or COMSOL will be used to analyze the performance of the piezoelectric sensor and the data compared with that of experimental results. First, the required blood pressure in the arteries was modeled. Using the predicted values of the blood pressure, a simulation of the piezoelectric pressure sensor was conducted.

 

Presenting Author: Bright Katey Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Presenting Author Biography: Bright Katey is a Ph.D. student, GEM, and Pratt Fellow in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Virginia Tech. He has MS and BS. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toledo, OH, US, and the University of Mines and Technology, Ghana respectively. His area of study has been Fluid Mechanics and Turbomachinery. He is currently focusing on applications of fluid mechanics in medical devices.

Authors:

Bright Katey Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Ioana Voiculescu The City College of New York
Fang Li New York Institute of Technology, USA
Alexandrina Untaroiu Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Muhammad Mubashar Ashraf Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University