Biodegradable polymer material based smart stent: Wireless pressure sensor and 3D printed stent

Abstract

In this paper, we present a 3D-printed biocompatible and biodegradable polymer stent with an integrated wireless pressure sensor, designed for advanced health monitoring applications. The Polycaprolactone (PCL) based polymer stent has a drug coating similar to conventional drug-eluting stents (DES) and a wireless pressure sensor that enables the real-time measurement of pressure inside the blood vessel. The wireless pressure sensor is made of poly(d-lactide) (PDLA), a biocompatible material that can be decomposed and absorbed together with the polymer stent in the body. The resonance frequency of the fabricated wireless pressure sensor (initially 148 MHz) decreases with blood pressure changes. Experimental results indicate that the sensitivity of the wireless pressure sensor (60 kHz/mmHg) shows a linear frequency shift within the pressure range of 0–220 mmHg.