Company insight An alternative to F


rom medical robotics to handheld tools, healthcare today is using smarter surgical devices that give force and pressure feedback. Load cells help in many applications such as providing haptic feedback for robotics or handheld instruments used in minimally invasive surgery, pressure sensing for catheter tip steering and ablation, torque sensing of rotary tools, and more. These high-value instruments are too expensive for single use and require autoclave sterilisation for reuse. Until recently, autoclavable sensors have required complex, expensive packaging to ensure survivability and reliability. Strain Measurement Devices (SMD) now offers autoclavable strain gauge technology on all standard and custom sensors. These harsh environment sensors are completely hermetic, and survive 100% humidity, pH of 11, and temperatures up to 200°C.


Autoclaving is a sterilisation process that uses steam at high temperature and pressure to kill bacteria, viruses and fungi and prevent patient infection. A typical process consists of a 20-minute soak with saturated steam at 134°C and 15psi, and some cycles may include detergents as well. This harsh process can damage sensitive strain gauges and ruin the


Adhesive bonding (bonding foil) Dielectric


Abrupt boundary change


Adhesive layer


Substrate Dielectric


Interdiffusion layer


Substrate


SMD uses a high-energy, thin-film sputter deposition process instead of organics to bond strain gauges to a substrate.


90


Gradual boundary change


hermetically sealed sensors for autoclave applications


With the surge of new medical and surgical devices that are in use today, it is important to have the very best-in-class technology and sensors. Strain Measurement Devices now offers autoclavable strain gauge technology on all standard and custom sensors.


SMD’s patented autoclavable force sensors can come customised, including weld-on gauges.


organic adhesives used to bond traditional strain gauges to a substrate. This can result in dramatic zero balance or span instability and lead to catastrophic failure. Industry focus has been to better protect the strain gauge from this harsh environment. A natural solution to this is using glass-to-metal headers and a welded hermetic body. However, this solution is complex,


Sputtered thin film bonding Dielectric


expensive and inflexible, holding back creative solutions to emerging smart surgical tools.


SMD forgoes the use of organics entirely by using a high-energy thin-film sputter deposition process to bond strain gauges to a substrate. This process forms a molecular bond with the component, with no adhesives involved, so the structure is much more stable. The strain gauges themselves are accurately positioned and balanced using state-of-the-art laser trimming technology, while termination to the outside world can be through wire bonds to ceramic circuits with soldered leads or flex circuits. The whole sensor is then encapsulated to protect it from the environment.


Medical Device Developments / www.nsmedicaldevices.com


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