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A novel solid state telemetry sensor for the chronic measurement of pressure in rats
Author(s) -
Lim Matthew,
Pauly Bob,
McCormick Daniel,
Kirton Robert,
Budgett David,
Kondo Masahiro,
Guild SarahJane,
Barrett Carolyn,
Malpas Simon
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.24.1_supplement.977.7
Subject(s) - telemetry , waveform , pressure sensor , biomedical engineering , arterial catheter , metering mode , catheter , computer science , electronic engineering , materials science , acoustics , electrical engineering , medicine , telecommunications , engineering , voltage , surgery , physics , mechanical engineering
Current telemetry devices for the measurement of pressure in rats utilise a catheter with a biocompatible gel and fluid which transmit the pressure waveform to a sensor. The reuse of gel/fluid based catheters is problematic with the need to regel and remove blood clots, furthermore the catheter is often damaged after repeated uses and requires refurbishment. These gel filled catheters have typically a very low frequency response; not allowing for performing meaningful dynamic analysis of cardiac pressure waveforms. These gel filled catheters also struggle with air bubbles during the regel operation which may also affect the signal integrity. We have developed a fully implantable telemeter incorporating a novel micro‐tip 2F catheter via a MEMs based sensor. The transmitter incorporates high frequency sampling of the pressure waveform and digital transmission to a remote receiver. The total implant weight is 14 gm and suitable for implantation in animals over 200 gm. Digital transmission of the signals permits co‐housing of animals without crosstalk. The ability to recharge the batteries inductively whilst monitoring provides the platform for long term and/or repeated use in animals. We report on the performance of telemeters when implanted in the aorta of Wistar rats for up to 1 month. The frequency response of the system was 500Hz allowing high fidelity measurement of arterial pressures. This high fidelity system for making direct measurements of internal pressures could provide a valuable research tool for expanding the scope of chronic studies while improving the ease of use of telemetry systems.