SBIR Phase I: Millimeter-Scale Wireless Sensor Node for Intracranial Pressure Monitoring

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is transformational, bringing about the next generation of computing platform in millimeter-scale form factor. The proposed pressure monitoring system is built upon a modular sensing platform, allowing the sensing modality to be easily changed to befit a variety of new application space. Therefore, even though the end goal of this project is to develop a commercial product that can be implanted to aid neurosurgeons in treating patients with hydrocephalus, the ultimate goal of this research is to achieve a true 'smart dust' computer to open up the next generation of computing paradigm. Millimeter-scale sensor nodes complete with energy autonomy and wireless communication can enable smart sensors to be connected in the least obtrusive way and distributed in large volume. A successful completion of this project would mark a significant milestone towards massive-scale realization of internet of things, dramatically accelerating the technology adoption and research impact of millimeter-scale wireless sensor nodes. Both academic and industrial community across multiple disciplines and fields will benefit from the new era of computing in an unprecedented form factor. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop and commercialize a complete pressure monitoring system in millimeter-scale volume. One application that can benefit from such a system is intra-cranial pressure monitoring for hydrocephalus patients. Hydrocephalus, a condition which cerebrospinal fluid builds up in the brain's ventricle area, causes head enlargement, epilepsy, and death. Practical hydrocephalus treatment is the surgical implant of a medical shunt which relieves excess fluid into other body parts. The biggest issue with current shunts is the lack of embedded monitoring. Neurosurgeons currently resort to educated guesses of desired valve settings should be or whether it is clogged. This incurs added cost for multiple visits if the pressure setting is incorrect, and both doctors and patients are blind-sighted about the shunt's status. With a millimeter-scale volume, the proposed pressure monitoring system can be pre-installed inside the shunt's reservoir, or injected with a syringe needle into an implanted shunt to provide real-time status to patients and doctors such that shunt failures can be prevented and better studied.