Monitoring the evolution of cerebral aneurysms is essential. Scientists are working on the development of a wireless sensor which, implanted in the vessels of the brain, would make it possible to monitor blood flow.
To follow the evolution of cerebral aneurysms, it is now necessary to carry out regular angiograms which, due to the use of contrast products, can have harmful side effects. Hence the idea of placing a sensor in a blood vessel allowing more frequent assessments without having to use imaging dyes.
It is this device that researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology are finalizing the development of which the review has just presented. Advanced Science.
Determine the degree of healing of the aneurysm
“With this system, we could measure the blood flow entering the aneurysm sac to determine the degree of healing of the aneurysm and alert doctors to changes in blood flow,” says Woom-Hang Yeo, assistant professor at Georgia Tech School of Mechanical Engineering.
Inserted through a catheter, the sensor would use inductive coupling of signals to enable wireless detection of the hemodynamics of a cerebral aneurysm.
The sensor which includes a coil to capture the electromagnetic energy transmitted by another coil located outside the body would be wrapped around a stent or a flow diverter whose diameter must be less than 2 or 3 millimeters to able to enter the blood vessels.
“React to the smallest changes in blood flow”
With such a device implanted in meat to simulate brain tissue, Yeo and his collaborators were able to measure blood flow. “We made the sensor very thin and deformable so that it could react to the smallest changes in blood flow”, specifies the researcher.
The next phase of the aneurysm sensor will be to test its ability to measure blood pressure in vessels as well as flow. “This would allow our device to be used for other applications, such as intracranial pressure measurements”, underlines Woom-Hang Yeo who specifies that there are “many possibilities to integrate this detection mechanism into membranes implantable in the body.
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