Design and Fabrication of a BiCMOS Dielectric Sensor for Viscosity Measurements: A Possible Solution for Early Detection of COPD.

Pouya Soltani Zarrin,Jan Wessel,Dietmar Kissinger,Christian Wenger,Farabi Jamal,Subhajit Guha

doi:10.3390/bios8030078

Abstract

The viscosity variation of sputum is a common symptom of the progression of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Since the hydration of the sputum defines its viscosity level, dielectric sensors could be used for the characterization of sputum samples collected from patients for early diagnosis of COPD. In this work, a CMOS-based dielectric sensor for the real-time monitoring of sputum viscosity was designed and fabricated. A proper packaging for the ESD-protection and short-circuit prevention of the sensor was developed. The performance evaluation results show that the radio frequency sensor is capable of measuring dielectric constant of biofluids with an accuracy of 4.17%. Integration of this sensor into a portable system will result in a hand-held device capable of measuring viscosity of sputum samples of COPD-patients for diagnostic purposes.

Highlights

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is one of the leading causes of death among developed countries [1]
Characterization and rapid screening of the mucus could be used for early diagnosis of COPD [3]
The dielectric constants of air, isopropanol, ethanol, and acetone were used to calibrate the sensor for dielectric measurements

Summary

Introduction

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is one of the leading causes of death among developed countries [1]. Studies suggest that the early diagnosis could effectively decrease the mortality rate of COPD, many patients go undiagnosed until the late stages of their disease [2]. Infection, and bronchial spasm are the three main syndromes of chronic bronchial disease. Characterization and rapid screening of the mucus could be used for early diagnosis of COPD [3]. Since the muco–protein content and the hydration of the sputum determine its viscosity level, monitoring the viscosity of the sputum collected from a patient could provide useful diagnostic information for the disease [3,4]

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Conclusion