Dissolving Sensor Can Be Used To Measure Intracranial Pressure

A team of researchers from the University of Illinois led by professor John Rogers has designed an implantable sensor that can be injected into the brain to monitor intracranial pressure and temperature for about five days. That is the length of time where the pressure and temperature inside the head need to be monitored after some sort of traumatic brain injury.

After the monitoring time span, the sensor dissolves away over weeks leaving no lasting effects behind for the person it was injected into. Monitoring intracranial pressure and temperature often requires the drilling of a hole into the skull and a large sensor implanted.

So far, the sensors have been demonstrated in rats using soluble wires to transmit signals along with a wireless version. The catch so far is that the transmission circuit is not resorbable. The tech that the research team has invented can be used to monitor different things including fluid flow, motion, pH, and other parameters.

The implantable tech could be used in the heart, other organs, or in the skin. The microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are made from a membrane of polyactic-co-glycolic acid, which is a common biodegradable polymer that is commonly used in medicine for things like dissolvable stitches. Research continues on the sensors and the team hopes to stretch their useful life to four weeks before resorbtion and to add the ability to release drugs directly into a site. Human trials are expected in about five years.

SOURCE: Spectrum