MEMS Capacitive Sensor for Wound Monitoring Applications

Abstract

This paper presents development of a capacitive microsensor to be used in monitoring of wound healing process. Wounds will heal more quickly if they are kept under a bandage and presently bandages must be removed to track the healing process. This could potentially delay the healing process. A sensor can be used to detect the presence of blood in the wound by measuring the capacitance. Blood has a higher permittivity than air or any other substance that may be in the wound and will significantly increase the total measured capacitance in the device. The presence of blood in the wound under the bandage and so in the device would signify that the wound is not fully healed. The sensor was fabricated using standard MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems) techniques in cleanroom. The sensor was tested in present of no solution, DI water and saline solution, and capacitance was measured to be 1 pF, 35 pF and 53.3 pF, respectively.