A new generation of a regulated micropump for medical applications

In this paper a prototype of an intelligent micropump is presented. The electrical parameters of the micropump are regulated by measuring the actual flow rate with an integrated thermal flow sensor. The micropump moves liquids with a regulated flow rate with a range of 100 μl/min to several ml/min. The accuracy is better than 10%. The micropump and flow sensor are controlled via integrated electronics to form a fully integrated system. The flow sensor is placed directly into the path of the fluid of the micropump, to minimize the complexity of the system and maximize its robustness. Further the system was manufactured using low cost methods. The gained flexibility of the system opens the door to a wide range of applications such as the dosage of fluids e.g. in the biomedical and pharmaceutical industry.