Stretchable Capacitive Pressure Sensing Sleeve Deployable onto Catheter Balloons towards Continuous Intra-Abdominal Pressure Monitoring

Abstract

Intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) is closely correlated with intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) and abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) diagnoses, indicating the need for continuous monitoring. Early intervention for IAH and ACS has been proven to reduce the rate of morbidity. However, the current IAP monitoring method is a tedious process with a long calibration time for a single time point measurement. Thus, there is the need for an efficient and continuous way of measuring IAP. Herein, a stretchable capacitive pressure sensor with controlled microstructures embedded into a cylindrical elastomeric mold, fabricated as a pressure sensing sleeve, is presented. The sensing sleeve can be readily deployed onto intrabody catheter balloons for pressure measurement at the site. The thin and highly conformable nature of the pressure sensing sleeve captures the pressure change without hindering the functionality of the foley catheter balloon.

Micro-/Nano-Structured Biodegradable Pressure Sensors for Biomedical Applications

“…Despite of the recent development in biodegradable pressure sensors, there are still some issues, such as sensitivity, operating range, and controllability of biodegradability, essentially to be improved for accurate pressure monitoring of various tissues and organs. In other words, regarding there are huge recent demands for healthcare and diagnosis of diseases in early stage through the pressure sensing of diverse tissues and organs, such as intracranial pressure [ 152 , 153 , 154 , 155 , 156 , 157 ], intraocular pressure [ 158 , 159 , 160 , 161 , 162 , 163 ], heartbeat [ 164 , 165 , 166 ], and bladder pressure [ 167 , 168 , 169 , 170 ], we expect that the high-performance biodegradable pressure sensors will be much more important for diverse biomedical applications in the future.…”

Systematic Review of Diagnostic Sensors for Intra-Abdominal Pressure Monitoring

“…However, changes to the volume of the cavity due to body position [ 56 ], muscle composition and contraction [ 57 ], or respiration can substantially change IVP [ 7 ], which limits the accuracy and precision of IVP devices. Kumar et al [ 30 ] reported a stretchable capacitive pressure-sensing sleeve that can detect the pressure change on the Foley tip, which might further improve IVP measurement. Groups from the University of Utah [ 2 , 4 , 45 , 52 ] presented several studies and devices to measure IAP through the transvaginal route.…”

“…Diaphragm displacement sensors [ 27 , 30 , 31 ] ( Figure 1 B) have a bendable flat surface (i.e., the diaphragm) and are exposed to the pressure medium on one side. For a pressure sensor, the opposite side is a sealed cavity.…”

“…In a capacitive diaphragm sensor, the diaphragm represents one electrode of a capacitor that has a fixed plate as the second electrode. Pressure-related deflection of the diaphragm reduces the separation of the electrodes, causing a capacitance change proportional to the applied pressure [ 30 ]. The electronic system can measure capacitance changes such as the resonant frequency to map the pressure.…”

Balloon Catheter-Integrated Piezoelectric Micropyramid Arrays for Measuring Vascular Stiffness

“…9,10 In addition, another study attached a capacitive sensor on a foley balloon catheter, and the measuring target was intravesical and intraabdominal pressure where the detection range of pressure was under 5 kPa. 11 Both sensors have limitations of a narrow pressure detection range as well as the need for an external power source for operation.…”