Browsing by Subject "Strain gauge"

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    Piezoresistor-Embedded Multifunctional Magnetic Microactuators for Implantable Self-Clearing Catheter
    (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2019-02-15) Yang, Qi; Lee, Albert; Bentley, R. Timothy; Lee, Hyowon; Neurological Surgery, School of Medicine
    Indwelling catheters are used widely in medicine to treat various chronic medical conditions. However, chronic implantation of catheters often leads to a premature failure due to biofilm accumulation. Previously we reported on the development of a self-clearing catheter by integrating polymer-based microscale magnetic actuators. The microactuator provides an active anti-biofouling mechanism to disrupt and remove adsorbed biofilm on demand using an externally applied stimulus. During an in vivo evaluation of self-clearing catheter, we realized that it is important to periodically monitor the performance of implanted microactuators. Here we integrate gold-based piezoresistive strain-gauge on our magnetic microactuators to directly monitor the device deflection with good sensitivity (0.035%/Deg) and linear range (±30°). With the integrated strain-gauge, we demonstrate the multi-functional capabilities of our magnetic microactuators that enable device alignment, flow-rate measurement, and obstruction detection and removal towards the development of chronically implantable self-clearing smart catheter.