Stretchable capacitive pressure sensing sleeve deployable onto catheter balloons towards continuous intra-abdominal pressure monitoring

Abstract

Intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) is closely correlated with intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) and abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) diagnoses, indicating the need for continuous monitoring. Early intervention for IAH and ACS has been proven to reduce the rate of morbidity. However, the current IAP monitoring method is a tedious process with a long calibration time for a single time point measurement. Thus, there is the need for an efficient and continuous way of measuring IAP. Herein, a stretchable capacitive pressure sensor with controlled microstructures embedded into a cylindrical elastomeric mold, fabricated as a pressure sensing sleeve, is presented. The sensing sleeve can be readily deployed onto intrabody catheter balloons for pressure measurement at the site. The thin and highly conformable nature of the pressure sensing sleeve captures the pressure change without hindering the functionality of the foley catheter balloon.