From MEMS to NEMS: Sensors and Smart Monitoring for Biomedical Devices

Biomedical devices require constant monitoring to ensure patients’ vital indicators are within acceptable limits during the devices’ operation. Sensing and monitoring are crucial for wearable and implantable devices, especially in artificial kidney. MEMS and NEMS sensors detect and monitor various patients’ data such as blood glucose level, water level and presence of various ions and proteins. The sensors can be tuned to detect specific proteins raging from human albumins to beta-2-microglobulins, thus activating various functions of the actuators. Aside from monitoring, MEMS and NEMS actuators are capable of seperating cells of various sizes, thus preventing clogging in a microfluidic system. Continuously collected data are transferred to hospital’s database and processed for real-time monitoring of patients’ wellbeing. Ambulatory biomedical devices with real-time data monitoring is emerging as a healthcare trend in the near future.