Improving Mechanical Stability of Implantable Resonator for the Dartmouth Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Center
For the culminating project for my BE, I worked on a team of six to improve the mechanical stability and ease of manufacturing for an existing Implantable Resonator (IR) for detecting oxygenation levels in tissue greater that 3cm deep. We validated our results with many tests to ensure mechanical durability and stability leading to the first round of animal testing.
BACKGROUND
o Low oxygenation in tumor sites affects the prognosis of chemotherapy and radiotherapy
o The EPR Center developed an IR with paramagnetic probes to detect oxygenation levels in deep tissue
PROBLEM
o The IR translocated from the implantation site and the probes dislodged from the sensor loops
o Manufacturing was inconsistent and the sensor could not be easily detected
SOLUTION
o We developed a PDMS overmold that incorporated a teflon washer for ease of detection and ease of manufacturing
o To confirm consistency in manufacturing we validated the deviation of the transmission line using light microscopy
o To validate the overmold we evaluated mechanical integrity based on low-cycle bending fatigue, tensile tests, and insertion/removal testing in fixed-chicken
Original IR
IR in final mold with teflon coupling loop
IR bending and centrality
