Alessandro Mastellari
Technical Specialist Avnet Abacus
Technology review
to the surgeon on how pressure is changing and indicates what actions they need to take.
Highly miniaturised sensors expand the available market for sensors in mechanical systems by offering the possibility of mounting them in places where older-technology devices would impede the fl ow of gases and compromise the overall design.
The IntraSense™ pressure sensor from Silicon Microstructures has been developed to aid microsurgery procedures.
from a broadside impact. As the demand for more advanced functions in cabin comfort arrive, we can expect pressure sensors to become more important in the air conditioning systems.
Advances in design have resulted in miniature pressure sensors that are able to seek out new applications. An example is the IntraSense pressure sensor developed by Silicon Microstructures. This MEMS-based device is small enough to fi t into the tiny catheters employed during microsurgery procedures. Laparoscopic surgery has numerous advantages for the patient, such as requiring far less pain medicine and a lower risk of wound infection. However, it comes at the cost of reducing the ability for the surgeon to feel problems around the target area that they would have with their fi ngers in conventional surgery.
Sometimes the surgical procedure involves applying additional pressure or suction. Without a clear feeling of the effect of that pressure, surgeons may make mistakes that result in complications. A pressure sensor at the target provides clear information
Another key trend lies in digitisation as the pressure sensor becomes an integral part of the internet of things (IoT). Historically, the output format of pressure sensors has been analogue. This output format provides designers with the ability to tune signal conditioning and conversion to their specific application. With the rise of the IoT, a single pressure sensor can feed into multiple applications, each with its own requirements for accuracy, resolution and repeatability.
For example, pressure sensing is being incorporated into mobile phones where, among other applications, they provide confirmation to positioning algorithms. They do so by comparing the sensed atmospheric pressure to GPS signals to compute height above sea level.
Miniaturisation, digitisation and integration are creating new opportunities for pressure sensor applications in medical, automotive and transportation, industrial and more.
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