
Wireless sensors find use as implants for tumor monitoring
MEMS sensor maker SMI claims that wireless sensors could be used to optimize the efficiency of chemotherapy for cancer treatment. The cooperation partners, Professors Wolfgang Krautschneider and Udo Schumacher and Dr. Christine Stürken, conduct research in the field of medical technology and cancer therapy.
SMI’s expertise in miniature pressure sensors enable accurate pressure sensing for invasive medical applications. SMI’s IntraSense product line of in vivo sensors offers a sensor size of 750 x 220 x 75 microns.
The project involves the measurement of pressure and temperature at the point of interest which will be wirelessly transmitted back to the medical team. An ultra-small sensor implanted into the tumor tissue helps the oncologist to adjust the chemotherapy treatment according to the conditions within the tumor.
Conventional practice is to judge the effectiveness of a chemotherapy treatment by computerized tomography of x-ray or magnetic resonance imaging techniques. Due to cost and increased exposure to x-ray radiation this procedure is only applied in widely spread time intervals. A sensor implant would enables continuous tumor monitoring without radiation exposure for the patient.
The IntraSense line of pressure sensors is designed to enable accurate in vivo pressure sensing in many minimally invasive devices, including catheters and endoscopes. The sensor can be exposed to bodily fluids with no encapsulation required.
SMI is wholly-owned subsidiary of Elmos Semiconductor Group.
News articles:
Graphene pressure sensor array beats touch
IMEC makes micro-optomechanical pressure sensor
Wireless blood flow sensor wraps around arteries, self-resorbs
