Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Open Access Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering (MS)

Administrative Home Department

Department of Biomedical Engineering

Advisor 1

Keat Ghee Ong

Committee Member 1

Jingfeng Jiang

Committee Member 2

Smitha Rao

Abstract

Sensorized implants with embedded wireless, passive temperature sensors were developed for early detection of implant-associated infections. The operation principle of the sensor is based on the hypothesis that infections can lead to an increase in local temperature prior to the rise of body temperature. The sensor was an inductive capacitive (LC) circuit that has been used for monitoring of different parameters wirelessly, often in difficult to access environments. The sensor was fabricated on to an interference screw, which is used for tendon and ligament reconstruction surgeries. In this project, a sensorized interference screw was designed and fabricated by accommodating an LC sensor. Different designs of sensors and detection coils were made and tested for optimal performance.

Infection at the site of an orthopedic implant is a serious challenge in the field of orthopedic surgery. These infections can lead to adverse health and economic burdens for the patients. The rate of failure of implants due to infections was around 2% to 2.4% during 2001-2009 period and rising. The treatment cost for orthopedic-associated infections has increased to 566 million USD in 2009 and is projected to 1.62 billion USD by 2020. Several techniques are used to evaluate infections, including X-rays radiography, bone scans, and lab blood tests, but primarily it is based on swelling and increased pain at the site of infection. Several studies have shown relations between temperature and infections, they focused on surface tissue layers and to our knowledge, there have been few similar studies in deeper layers. The goal of this project is to develop a device that can operate within deeper tissues.

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