BY: D.N.V.Subba Rao T.V.M.

Sandeep

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION MICROFABRICATION BIOMEDICAL MICROSENSORS BIOMEDICAL MICROACTUATORS Surgical Microinstruments CONCLUSION BIBILOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) is a technology of miniaturization that has been largely adopted from the integrated circuit (IC) industry and applied to the miniaturization of all systems. Miniaturization is accomplished with microfabrication processes, such as micromachining, that typically use lithography, although other non-lithographic precision microfabrication techniques exist (FIB, EDM, laser machining).

Surface Micromachining

Surface micromachining and the sacrificial layer technique

Non-Silicon Microfabrication
LIGA :
However, in practice LIGA essentially stands for a process that combines extremely thick-film resists (often >1 mm) and x-ray lithography a drawback to LIGA is the need for high-energy x-ray sources.

SU-8 :
They use a special epoxy-resin-based optical resist, called SU-8, that can be spun on in thick layers (>500 m).

BIOMEDICAL MICROSENSORS
Microsensors for Biomechanics Strain Gauges :
Strain gauges are used to characterize the forces in the body Since silicon is known to be an excellent piezoresistive material (i.e., its resistance changes as a function of applied force), it can be easily micromachined to form sub-millimeter multi-axis strain gauges. Applications of such miniaturized strain gauges include orthopedic research and the study of muscles.

Microsensors for Pneumatic Biosystems

Since much of the human body is a complex system of pumps, valves, vessels, and interconnects. pressure in many parts of the body is an important parameter to indicate the health and well being of a patient Pressure sensors are used in medicine in many applications: blood pressure, bladder pressure,and cerebral spinal fluid pressure to name a few.

Fig: Micromachined pressure sensor die with smallest having dimensions

ISFET
Field effect transistors (FETs) are very sensitive to variations in the amount of charge on their controlling electrodes (i.e., gate) A good pH sensor can be made this way by coating the gate of the FET with a compound that will selectively bind or allow to pass only specific ions or molecules, an ionsensitive FET, or ISFET, can be realized Common difficulties with ISFETs, as with all chemical sensors, are drift and repeatability.

Microsensors for Electrical Biosystems

The central and peripheral nervous systems are the primary electrical biosystems of interest Many sensors and probes have been used to measure the electrical signals generated by neural tissue example include electrocardiogram (ECG). These bio electrical signals are typically transduced with either external or internal electrodes with MEMS technology, many electrodes can be cofabricated onto a single substrate

 MEMS technology can also be used to shape the substrate into either arrays of microprobes capable of penetrating neural tissue (Figure) or into a perforated membrane through which regenerating neural tissue can grow and then be monitored.
Figure: Microfabricated silicon

neural probe arrays. ( Close-up of the probes and electrodes)

BIOMEDICAL MICROACTUATORS
Microactuators are useful in biomedical applications when biological objects or their environment need to be controlled on the microscopic scale. Furthermore, the ability to integrate many microactuators as easily as only one makes it feasible to produce complex microsystems capable of controlling many parameters.

Surgical Microinstruments
A scalpel driven by a piezoelectric microactuator is an innovative example of using MEMS technology in surgical tools (Figure). The piezoelectric stepper motor allows the position the scalpel to be precisely controlled. By integrating an ability to measure the stresses experienced by the scalpel during cutting, the actual cutting force can be quantified and controlled Figure: Piezoelectrically driven force Sensitive scalpel

Microneedles
The reduction in pain caused by needle insertion is important for patient satisfaction and health. This is particularly true for patients suffering from diabetes who inject themselves with insulin at least a few times a day. It is then no surprise that the smallest needles presently available are the 30-gauge needles used by diabetics.Micromachining and MEMS technology has been used to produce silicon microneedles that are much sharper than exisiting needles

Microfilters
The process used to produce conventional filters capable of screening micron-scale objects results in an unacceptably broad statistical distribution of the size of objects that can pass Micromachining and MEMS technology has been used to realize filters that are precisely and uniformly machined, which greatly reduces the statistical variation in objects that pass through

Other surgical instruments:

Microvalves

Micropumps

BIOMEDICAL MICROSYSTEMS
The ability to miniaturize entire biomedical systems, such as DNA analysis, chemical analysis, drug development, and neural prosthetics, has the potential to reduce the cost of health-care management. For example, reducing the cost and complexity of performing DNA screening and chemical analysis to the point that tests can be performed rapidly on the desktop, would reduce the infrastructure required for the test without compromising capability. This would enable remote or small-scale clinics to offer fast high-quality tests.

CONCLUSION
Micromachining and MEMS technologies are powerful tools for enabling the miniaturization of devices useful in biomedical engineering. Although silicon micromachined pressure sensors presently possess the largest share of the BioMEMS market in terms of volume and sales, it is anticipated that the market share of MEMS-enabled chemical sensing and microfluidic systems will grow tremendously. In addition, MEMS will continue to be applied to biomedical engineering in new research activities that push our understanding of cells, organs, the brain, the body, and the world around us.

BIBILOGRAPHY
www.allaboutmems.com www.memsnet.org www.dbanks.com www.stdmems.com/images www.mems.isi.edu www.google.com