Implantable MICS-based wireless solution for bladder pressure monitoring

This paper covers the design, development and prototyping of an implantable wireless bladder pressure monitoring system. The proposed device is an essential part of a novel health solution intended for patients with bladder dysfunctions. It allows the urologist to closely monitor the intravesical pressure and the patient to evacuate the collected urine on time, thus increasing his quality of life. The proposed implant includes a minimal number of components. Communication is performed through FDA-approved on-device RF transceivers, and an external base station. The base station integrates a Microsemi's ZL70120 module while the communication implant employs a ZL70123. Pressure measurement is made with custom built biocompatible Piezo-resistive pressure sensor probes operated in differential mode. The implant achieves a power consumption of 2.1 mW in sleeping mode while the consumption in operating mode is 18.6 mW. The communication range is around 2.5 meters. System design and experimental results are reported and discussed.