DesignofHealthTechnologieslecture.pptVIP

Design of Health Technologieslecture 12 Advanced Sensing Systems Biosensors: Glucose monitoring Other systems Magneto-elastic sensors (Grimes) The magneto-elastic material resonates at a characteristic frequency when excited by a magnetic field. Magneto-elastic sensors The magneto-elastic ribbon is made of a commercial sheet called Metglas. The polymer is a custom co-polymer made by the Grimes group. It is believed to work because glucose bonds to sites on polymer chains that separate them from other chains. This allows the polymer to absorb water. Magneto-elastic sensors Its frequency response (in air) shows a sharp peak which is determined by the density of the polymer layer Magneto-elastic sensors Resonant frequency in a liquid is lower, and the peak is not as sharp. Magneto-elastic sensors Frequency response in water varies with the glucose concentration, in an almost perfectly linear curve. Sensor measurement The electronics are simple. A sharp spike is applied to a driving coil, and a response is measured in a sense coil. Sensor measurement The magnetic spike is short, about 3 gauss for 16 micro-seconds (earth’s magnetic field is about 0.5 gauss, and a refrigerator magnet about 10 gauss). The pickup coil measures sensor activity for a further 8 milli-seconds. The response is transformed with an FFT to determine the frequency peak. This should be easy to do with a small, battery-powered device. Because the sensor’s response is quite slow (tens of minutes to respond), it is enough to take readings every few minutes. Biosensor status There are many promising systems on the horizon, but the only commercially-deployed biosensors are glucose monitors (~$4B). 3 main types: Single Use: Disposable sensing material, often “static” measurement. Cheap and portable, but low sensitivity and accuracy. Intermittent Use: Often use hydrodynamics – generally much better performance from sensing a moving fluid. Its still a challenge to move these out of the lab a