Title :
Towards a micromachined system for mechanical characterization of osteoblasts
Author :
Tatic-Lucic, Svetlana ; Gnerlich, Markus ; Zhang, Wenyue ; Donahue, Henry ; Voloshin, Arkady
Author_Institution :
Electr. & Comput. Eng. Dept., Lehigh Univ., Bethlehem, PA
Abstract :
Measurement of the Young´s modulus of bone cells (osteoblasts) is considered to be of paramount importance to investigate and find a more efficient cure for osteoporosis, an illness that is impacting a significant portion of the world´s senior population. MEMS technology is an ideal platform to build a better testing system with the desired qualities. Some microdevices based on MEMS technology have been developed for this purpose, but most of them are still in the initial stages of development. In this paper, a BioMEM system for testing the mechanical properties of a biological cell is designed and fabricated which include an electrothermal actuator for the cultured cell compression, a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature in the cell medium, a cell-positioning system and a force sensor for measuring the force applied to the cell.
Keywords :
Young´s modulus; bioMEMS; biomechanics; biomedical measurement; biothermics; bone; cellular biophysics; diseases; force sensors; micromachining; temperature sensors; BioMEM system; Young´s modulus measurement; biological cell; bone cells; electrothermal actuator; force sensor; mechanical properties testing; micromachined system; osteoporosis; temperature sensor; Bones; Cells (biology); Force measurement; Force sensors; Mechanical factors; Mechanical variables measurement; Micromechanical devices; Osteoporosis; System testing; Temperature sensors;
Conference_Titel :
Microwaves, Communications, Antennas and Electronic Systems, 2008. COMCAS 2008. IEEE International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Tel-Aviv
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-2097-1
Electronic_ISBN :
978-1-4244-2098-8
DOI :
10.1109/COMCAS.2008.4562775
