Off-campus Michigan Tech users: To download campus access theses or dissertations, please use the following button to log in with your Michigan Tech ID and password: log in to proxy server
Non-Michigan Tech users: Please talk to your librarian about requesting this thesis or dissertation through interlibrary loan.
Date of Award
2016
Document Type
Campus Access Master's Report
Degree Name
Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering (MS)
Administrative Home Department
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Advisor 1
Keat Ghee Ong
Committee Member 1
Megan C. Frost
Committee Member 2
Sean J. Kirkpatrick
Abstract
A standalone, reconfigurable, embedded wireless sensing device was developed for real-time measurement of multiple parameters such as forces/strains and temperature. While there are commercial sensor systems that can provide real-time monitoring, many of them are too large and consume too much power for certain research applications. The wireless sensor platform presented here is small in size (circuit size is about 3.0 cm × 1.5 cm × 0.50 cm), battery powered, and can be easily configured, making them ideal for use as a medical research tool. For example, in vivo physiological data can be collected by this sensor platform to validate results from simulations or in vitro experiments. As a proof of concept experiment, a device was designed and fabricated to monitor tensile and compressive forces, such as those experienced by an external fixation plate used to stabilize long bone fractures. Strain sensor measurements were validated against a commercial mechanical loading instrument for relevant loads that an animal (goat) would experience during in vivo testing (up to 250 N). The loader was configured to apply a maximum force of 250 N to the bone fixation plate at a rate of 4 kN/min. The results show the strain sensor is capable of sensing the load applied to the fixation apparatus with a force detection resolution of 2.7 N. The noise level in the system was 10 mV, which is 5% of the full scale output (200 mV) at a maximum load of 250N. Cyclic testing of the system showed optimal stability and no observable drift in the sensor.
Recommended Citation
Prince, Sterling, "Wireless Sensor System for Monitoring Strains and Forces On An External Bone Fixation Plate", Campus Access Master's Report, Michigan Technological University, 2016.