Silicon cap structure development and microassembly for forward tactile sensing in endovascular guidewire intervention

Guidewire procedure for peripheral artery disease treatment is heavily dependent on the surgeon´s skills and experiences. In order to reduce such dependency, sensor-enhanced forward sensing guidewire is proposed. In this paper, we proposed a silicon cap structure that increases the robustness and efficient force transfer of the existing sensor-enhanced forward sensing guidewire. Silicon cap structure of 0.32 × 0.32 × 0.40mm has been fabricated using two masks process. Assembly of silicon structure with sensor having a 30μm overloading protection limit and resistance changes of 25kΩ with applied force ranging from 0~40mN has been demonstrated.