A highly sensitive capacitive displacement sensor for force measurement integrated in an engineered heart tissue platform
M. Dostanic (TU Delft - Electronic Components, Technology and Materials, Leiden University Medical Center)
F. Pfaiffer (Student TU Delft)
Mahdieh Shojaei Baghini (University of Glasgow)
Laura Windt (Leiden University Medical Center)
M. Wiendels (Leiden University Medical Center)
Berend J. van Meer (Leiden University Medical Center)
C. L. Mummery (Leiden University Medical Center, University of Twente)
Pasqualina M Sarro (TU Delft - Electronic Components, Technology and Materials)
Massimo Mastrangeli (TU Delft - Electronic Components, Technology and Materials)
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
Abstract
We present a novel capacitive displacement sensor integrated in an engineered heart tissue (EHT) platform to measure tissue contractile properties in-situ. Co-planar spiral capacitors were integrated into the elastomeric substrate underneath the two micropillars of a previously developed EHT platform. The capacitor plates are displaced by the tension and compression that occurs in the substrate when the micropillars bend under contractile tissue force. For a contraction force of ~200 µN, applied in the middle of pillar length, the expected change in base capacitance is in the aF range. Readout of such low capacitance changes was achieved using a commercial low-noise high-sensitivity device. Characterization of static and dynamic sensor behavior agreed with numerical simulations, demonstrating a responsivity of 0.35 ± 0.07 fF/µN. Preliminary tests with cardiac tissues proved biocompatibility of the platform, as EHTs successfully formed and remained functional for at least 14 days