Ten things you need to know about in-vivo sensing

In modern medical technology, in-vivo pressure sensors measure the pressure of body fluids and therefore come into direct contact with the same. Eliminating the buffering interface offers a number of tangible advantages: a fast response time, simple design and reduced damping and drift open up completely new opportunities in diagnostics. In existing applications, too, disposable products that do not have to be cleaned and sterilized pay off in the form of reductions in cost and simpler handling.

This is partly offset by increased certification requirements, particularly regarding the sensor surface: this must be biocompatible, i.e. no substances hazardous to health may be transferred to humans.

AMSYS GmbH & Co KG (www.amsys-sensor.com) from Mainz offers a range of select sensors for medical technology, from special catheter sensors such as the IntraSense for measuring vascular pressure in blood vessels, the brain or the kidney tract, to MEMS pressure sensors for respirators such as the AMS 5915 or mass flow sensors from First Sensor. Low-pressure sensors for ranges below 25 Pa are also used in medical devices. Here, biocompatible sensors are playing an increasingly important role: besides the IntraSense pressure sensor for catheter measurements inside the body, just 220 µm wide, there are also relative pressure sensors for single use outside the body, such as the 1620, which is used on dialysis machines among other applications, or the MS5839 absolute pressure sensor which is used on ventilators and anesthesia machines.

AMSYS supports you in the selection of a sensor suitable for your application and offers you help with integration of the same, for example by providing technical advice, through application notes or even in the form of FAQs such as those on IntraSense catheter sensors (see IntraSense FAQ). For quick first development steps, AMSYS also offers evaluation kits with a USB connection and software for fast measurement of pressure and temperature in prototyping.