Flexible Distributed Pressure Sensing Strip for a Urethral Catheter

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Sensor Technology
• Urology

Background:

• Urinary incontinence diagnosis requires accurate urodynamic testing.
• Current methods for measuring urethral pressure face challenges in sensitivity and in-vivo reliability.
• Flexible, implantable sensors are needed for precise, distributed pressure mapping.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a multi-sensor flexible strip for urethral catheters.
• To measure distributed pressure within the human urethra.
• To address challenges of flexibility, in-vivo reliability, and parasitic interference.

Main Methods:

• Micro-fabrication of capacitive force sensors using polyimide/PDMS and copper electrodes.
• Integration of a reference fringe capacitance sensor to mitigate parasitic effects.
• In-vitro evaluation using a bench-top pressure chamber with a catheter-embedded sensor strip.

Main Results:

• The developed sensor strip demonstrated the required sensitivity and pressure measurement range.
• Preliminary results indicate the parasitic sensor effectively removes interference from urethral tissues.
• The sensor strip is flexible and suitable for urethral insertion.

Conclusions:

• A novel flexible multi-sensor strip for urethral catheters has been successfully developed.
• The sensor shows promise for accurate urodynamic testing by measuring distributed urethral pressure.
• Parasitic interference can be compensated for, improving measurement reliability in clinical applications.