Fabrication of a Micro-Fluid Gathering Tool for the Gastrointestinal Juice Sampling Function of a Versatile Capsular Endoscope.docVIP

Sensors 2011, 11, 6978-6990; doi:10.3390/s110706978 OPEN ACCESS sensors ISSN 1424-8220 /journal/sensors Article Fabrication of a Micro-Fluid Gathering Tool for the Gastrointestinal Juice Sampling Function of a Versatile Capsular Endoscope Kyo-in Koo, Sangmin Lee and Dong-il Dan Cho * Inter-University Semiconductor Research Center and Automation System Research Institute, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Seoul National University, 599 Gwanak-ro Gwanak-gu, 151-744, Seoul, Korea; E-Mails: kkin76@snu.ac.kr (K.K.); sangmlee@snu.ac.kr (S.L.) * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: dicho@snu.ac.kr; Tel.: +82-2-880-8371; Fax: +1-805-980-4380. Received: 16 June 2011; in revised form: 28 June 2011 / Accepted: 28 June 2011 / Published: 4 July 2011 Abstract: This paper presents a micro-fluid gathering tool for a versatile capsular endoscope that employs a solid chemical propellant, azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN). The proposed tool consists of a micro-heater, an AIBN matrix, a Venturi tube, a reservoir, an inlet, and an outlet. The micro-heater heats the AIBN matrix to be decomposed into by-products and nitrogen gas. This nitrogen gas generates negative pressure passing through the Venturi tube. The generated negative pressure inhales a target fluid from around the inlet into the reservoir. All the parts are designed to be embedded inside a cylindrical shape with a diameter of 17 mm and a height of 2.3 mm in order to integrate it into a versatile developmental capsular endoscope without any scaledown. Two sets of the proposed tools are fabricated and tested: one is made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and the other is made of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). In performance comparisons, the PDMS gathering tool can withstand a stronger pulling force, and the PMMA gathering tool requires a less negative pressure for inhaling the same target fluid. Due