Monitoring the success of surgery on blood vessels is challenging, as the first sign of trouble often comes too late. By that time, the patient often needs additional surgery that carries risks similar to the original procedure. A new device could make it easier for doctors to monitor the success of blood vessel surgery.
The sensor monitors the flow of blood through an artery. It is biodegradable, battery-free, wireless, compact, doesn’t need to be removed, and can warn a patient’s doctor if there is a blockage. The sensor wraps snugly around the healing vessel, where blood pulsing past pushes on its inner surface. As the shape of that surface changes, it alters the sensor’s capacity to store electric charge, which doctors can detect remotely from a device located near the skin but outside the body. That device solicits a reading by pinging the antenna of the sensor, similar to an ID card scanner. In the future, this device could come in the form of a stick-on patch or be integrated into other technology, like a wearable device or smartphone.
The researchers first tested the sensor in an artificial setting where they pumped air through an artery-sized tube to mimic pulsing blood flow. The sensor is a wireless version of technology that was in development to give prostheses a delicate sense of touch. The researchers had to modify their existing sensor’s materials to make it sensitive to pulsing blood but rigid enough to hold its shape. They also had to move the antenna to a location where it would be secure and not affected by the pulsation, and re-design the capacitor so it could be placed around an artery.
The researchers are now finding the best way to affix the sensors to the vessels and refining their sensitivity.
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