Wireless Bladder Pressure Monitor for Closed-Loop Bladder Neuromodulation

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Urology
• Implantable Devices

Background:

• Conditional neuromodulation requires real-time bladder pressure monitoring.
• Current catheter-based methods are unsuitable for chronic ambulatory therapy.
• A wireless, implantable solution is needed for closed-loop bladder control.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a wireless, implantable pressure monitor for bladder control.
• To assess the viability of a non-hermetic polymer sensor package for chronic implantation.
• To confirm chronic wireless device function and data quality in large animal models.

Main Methods:

• Developed an ultra-low-power ASIC, MEMS pressure sensor, RF antennas, and rechargeable battery system.
• Utilized a non-hermetic polymer package for sensor encapsulation.
• Conducted chronic in vivo testing in large animal models.

Main Results:

• The polymer packaging method proved viable for chronic sensor encapsulation.
• Chronic implantation presented some challenges at the bladder wall site.
• Confirmed chronic wireless device function with high data quality (avg. correlation coefficient of 0.90) for detecting bladder contractions.

Conclusions:

• The wireless pressure monitor is a viable catheter-free solution for real-time bladder pressure monitoring.
• The developed system demonstrates potential for chronic ambulatory therapy in bladder control.
• Further optimization of the implant site is recommended for long-term stability.