Abstract
Hypotension in the middle ear can cause serious diseases and hearing disorders. Until now, pressure in the middle ear is measured indirectly by using the impedance of the tympanic membrane (tympanometry). Direct methods are just described in scientific studies and would be harmful in clinical routine. Here, we demonstrate a bio-compatible pressure sensor, which can resolve pressure changes in the range of −7.5 kPa up to +7.5 kPa, and due to its compact design (area of 2 × 4 mm2), can be directly implanted in the human middle ear. Furthermore, the read-out of the pressure sensor can be conveniently done using wireless data communication technologies employing a plate capacitor with an elastic dielectric for pressure monitoring and a planar coil. Thus, our sensor allows for direct pressure measurements in the middle ear, avoiding additional surgeries after device implantation.
Highlights
Bio-compatible electronic devices are a rapidly developing field of technology that may provide a way to achieve green, environmental-friendly electronics (Irimia-Vladu, 2014) and have the potential to revolutionize the world of medical therapies
We develop a bio-compatible pressure sensor which shall be implanted in the human middle ear in order to quantify the middle ear pressure for efficient postoperative monitoring
PDMS is known to be among the best elastomers allowing for significant change of thickness if pressure is applied, we recognized that the use of a planar PDMS layers did not provide the required resolution for the pressure sensor
Summary
Bio-compatible electronic devices are a rapidly developing field of technology that may provide a way to achieve green, environmental-friendly electronics (Irimia-Vladu, 2014) and have the potential to revolutionize the world of medical therapies. Small, flexible, and versatile sensors [e.g., for ion (Tseng et al, 2021), chemical, electrical sensing (Bai et al, 2019; Keene et al, 2020), etc.], which can be integrated in the human body, enable completely new treatment and monitoring methods (Lee et al, 2015; Minev et al, 2015; Someya et al, 2016; Torricelli et al, 2021). Pressure sensing inside the human body is of particular interest as pressure is used to regulate specific physiological functions (e.g., inside the ears or eyes) or might serve as an indicator for earlystage detection of certain diseases. If only short-term pressure recording is required (e.g., for postoperative monitoring), ideally, the sensors units should be bio-degradable to avoid additional surgery. Using bio-compatible or even bio-degradable materials increases the complexity of device fabrication due to the limited choice of materials and restrictions concerning compatibility with fabrication processes
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