Integration of flow sensor and optical fiberscope for in-situ breathing and surface image evaluations in small airway

We challenged ourselves to integrate a flow sensor into an optical fiberscope for in-situ breathing and surface image evaluations in small airways. Film transfer technology was applied to attach the flow sensor onto a curved tube surface. A single wrapping process that used double-sided tape was introduced, and the miniaturized tube-type flow sensor was developed to be easily attached to the outside of the optical fiberscope. Two tubes with inner diameters of 1.4 and 2.0 mm, respectively, were used to correspond to the variations sized fiberscopes. The fabricated tube-type flow sensor was attached onto a SUS rod with the same diameter as that of the target fiberscope. Two sensor characteristics were experimentally evaluated, and the results confirmed that the developed sensor system can be applied to breathing and image evaluations in small airways.