Head-compliant microstrip split ring resonator for non-invasive healing monitoring after craniosynostosis-based surgery

[摘要] A soft and highly directive, proximity-coupled split-ring resonator fabricated with a liquid alloy, copper and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is presented. The same was designed for sensing osteogenesis of calvarial bone. As dielectric properties of bone grafts in ossifying calvarial defects should change during the osteogenesis process, devices like this could monitor the gradual transformation of the defect into bone by differentiating changes in the dielectric properties as shifts in the resonance frequency. Computational Software Technology (CST) Microwave Studio®-based simulation results on computational head models were in good agreement with laboratory results on head phantom models, which also included the comparison with an in-vivo measurement on the human head. A discussion based on an inductive reasoning regarding dynamics’ considerations is provided as well. Since the skin elasticity of newborn children is high, stretching and crumpling could be significant. In addition, due to typical head curvatures in newborn children, bending should not be a significant issue, and can provide higher energy focus in the defect area and improve conformability. The present concept could support the development of soft, cheap and portable follow-up monitoring systems to use in outpatient hospital and home care settings for post-operative monitoring of bone healing after reconstructive surgical procedures.

[学科分类] 肠胃与肝脏病学

[关键词] bone;phantoms;surgery;skin;elasticity;bending;biomechanics;paediatrics;split ring resonators;microstrip resonators;patient monitoring;liquid alloys;microwave resonators;biomedical equipment;bone grafts;calvarial defects;osteogenesis process;dielectric properties;resonance frequency;computational head models;head phantom models;human head;newborn children;defect area;monitoring systems;post-operative monitoring;bone healing;head-compliant microstrip split ring resonator;noninvasive healing monitoring;craniosynostosis-based surgery;soft proximity-coupled split-ring resonator;highly directive proximity-coupled split-ring resonator;copper;polydimethylsiloxane;liquid alloy;calvarial bone osteogenesis;computational software technology microwave studio-based simulation;head curvatures;skin elasticity;reconstructive surgical procedures;bending