Temperature Compensated Fibre Bragg Grating Pressure Sensor for Ventricular Assist Devices

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Devices
• Sensor Technology

Background:

• Rotary ventricular assist devices (VADs) support heart failure patients but lack real-time hemodynamic monitoring outside hospitals.
• Constant manual speed settings in VADs can lead to dangerous over- or under-pumping events.
• Implantable sensors are needed for continuous blood pressure monitoring within VADs to detect adverse events.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) based strain sensor for implantable, real-time blood pressure monitoring in rotary VADs.
• To develop and validate a temperature compensation method for accurate pressure readings.

Main Methods:

• A temperature-compensated FBG-based strain sensor was designed for VAD integration.
• A generalized linear model was employed to correct temperature-related errors in pressure readings.
• Sensor performance was evaluated across a pressure range of -25 to 150 mmHg and temperatures between 35-39°C.

Main Results:

• Without temperature compensation, the FBG sensor exhibited a mean error of ±5 mmHg.
• Temperature compensation reduced the mean error to less than ±2 mmHg over the tested pressure range.
• The compensation technique proved effective across a broad spectrum of temperatures and pressures.

Conclusions:

• The developed FBG sensor, with temperature compensation, offers accurate and continuous blood pressure monitoring for rotary VADs.
• This technology has the potential to significantly improve patient safety by enabling early detection of adverse events.
• Real-time hemodynamic data can enhance VAD management and patient outcomes.