Aluminium nitride based BIO-MEMS for vascular graft monitoring

Various techniques are able to monitor the hemodynamic conditions inside a prosthetic graft, thus providing useful information information to optimise patient's therapy but even on the graft status. However, all the current technologies affect the mechanical properties and functionality of the device. A proof-of-concept experiment is reported in this paper, which demonstrates the ability of an A1N-based sensor, integrated on the extraluminal surface of the prosthesis, to continuously monitor the inner blood flow, avoiding any interference with the graft structure. To this aim, mechanical properties and dimensions of the sensor are optimized in order to maximize its response to a variation of hemodynamics parameters. The very performing features of the sensor in terms of sensitivity, conformability and biocompatibility of the used materials, make the device able to successfully monitor the graft functionality, opening new perspectives for the development of an implantable sensorized vascular graft system.