We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
RANDOX LABORATORIES

Download Mobile App




Batteryless, Wireless Stent Sensor Warns of Blockages in Bile Duct

By HospiMedica International staff writers
Posted on 01 Nov 2024
Print article
Image: The magnetoelastic sensor encapsulated in the 3D printed polymer structure (Photo courtesy of Nambisan et al., 2024/University of Michigan)
Image: The magnetoelastic sensor encapsulated in the 3D printed polymer structure (Photo courtesy of Nambisan et al., 2024/University of Michigan)

Bile duct blockages can lead to jaundice, liver damage, and potentially life-threatening infections. Conditions that result in the narrowing and closure of bile ducts, such as pancreatic and liver cancers, may be treated by inserting stents to keep the ducts open. However, these stents can themselves become obstructed by bacterial sludge or gallstones, requiring urgent treatment with antibiotics and replacement of the stent. Currently, healthcare providers monitor biliary stent blockages using blood tests, which means that the issue must reach a significant level for the body to signal its presence. Researchers have now developed a new sensor for stents used in the bile duct that could help physicians detect and address stent blockages early, thereby improving patient health. This sensor can inform doctors of accumulating bacterial sludge and allow for intervention before the patient shows signs of illness.

Developed by researchers at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI, USA), the sensor measures 8 millimeters long—approximately half the diameter of a penny—and is 1 millimeter wide. It is housed in a protective, 3D-printed plastic structure that attaches to plastic stents. During a checkup, the patient would wear a belt-like detector around their waist that emits an alternating magnetic field, changing its sign at various frequencies to induce maximum, or resonant, vibration in the sensor. As the sensor vibrates, any masses adding weight to it are indicated by a lowered resonant frequency. One significant challenge was detecting this resonant frequency, which appears as a responding magnetic field emitted by the sensor, even through nearly 7 inches of fluid-rich abdominal tissue. Through careful hardware design and digital signal processing, the team achieved a signal-to-noise ratio of one million to one during their tests.

The design also enhances the communication range while minimizing signal feedthrough, ensuring that the sensor’s signaling and receiving ends do not interfere with each other. This is accomplished through time domain decoupling, where one end is suspended while the other operates and vice versa. Moving forward, the researchers plan to develop a version compatible with metal stents. In the long term, they aim to further miniaturize the sensor, allowing multiple sensors to be distributed along the stent, each with a different resonant frequency. This would facilitate localized detection of sludge buildup. Additionally, the team intends to create more affordable electronics for the belt-like detector, setting the stage for human clinical trials. As this technology evolves, magnetoelastic sensors could also be applied in other areas of the body, including peripheral vascular stents, long-term coronary stents, and ureteral stents.

"This novel stent sensor provides the opportunity to detect impending biliary stent obstructions without waiting for clinical symptoms, blood tests or imaging tests, all of which delay intervention," said Richard Kwon, a clinical professor of internal medicine and gastroenterology at the U-M Medical School and co-author of the study in Nature Microsystems & Nanoengineering.

Gold Member
Disposable Protective Suit For Medical Use
Disposable Protective Suit For Medical Use
Flocked Fiber Swabs
Puritan® patented HydraFlock®
New
Plastic Screen Panels
Plastic Screen Panels
New
Diagnosis Display System
C1216W

Print article

Channels

Critical Care

view channel
mage: The electroceutical epidermal patch is designed to inhibit bacterial growth (Photo courtesy of Saehyun Kim/University of Chicago)

Cutting-Edge Bioelectronic Device Offers Drug-Free Approach to Managing Bacterial Infections

Antibiotic-resistant infections pose an increasing threat to patient safety and healthcare systems worldwide. Recent estimates indicate that drug-resistant infections may rise by 70% by 2050, highlighting... Read more

Patient Care

view channel
Image: The portable biosensor platform uses printed electrochemical sensors for the rapid, selective detection of Staphylococcus aureus (Photo courtesy of AIMPLAS)

Portable Biosensor Platform to Reduce Hospital-Acquired Infections

Approximately 4 million patients in the European Union acquire healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) or nosocomial infections each year, with around 37,000 deaths directly resulting from these infections,... Read more

Health IT

view channel
Image: First ever institution-specific model provides significant performance advantage over current population-derived models (Photo courtesy of Mount Sinai)

Machine Learning Model Improves Mortality Risk Prediction for Cardiac Surgery Patients

Machine learning algorithms have been deployed to create predictive models in various medical fields, with some demonstrating improved outcomes compared to their standard-of-care counterparts.... Read more

Point of Care

view channel
Image: The acoustic pipette uses sound waves to test for biomarkers in blood (Photo courtesy of Patrick Campbell/CU Boulder)

Handheld, Sound-Based Diagnostic System Delivers Bedside Blood Test Results in An Hour

Patients who go to a doctor for a blood test often have to contend with a needle and syringe, followed by a long wait—sometimes hours or even days—for lab results. Scientists have been working hard to... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.