Minimally Invasive Sensors for Transurethral Impedance Spectroscopy

Bladder tumor recurrence is a serious problem in uro-oncology, as it increases the risk of fatal progression and makes further surgeries necessary. The possibility of intraoperative tissue differentiation can help for diagnostic purposes as well as for ensuring that the entirety of the tumor is removed. The latter not only differ visually from healthy tissue, but also in their mechanical and electrical properties due to an altered physiology. A possible base for intraoperative tissue differentiation are impedance measurements, which are, however, difficult to obtain passing through the limited space of the urethra. This work presents a comparative study of two impedance sensors, which are obtained by laser direct structuring and rely on a four terminal measurement. The miniaturized sensors are suitable for minimally invasive usage. Circular electrodes are placed in a square for a first sensor, whereas a novel combination of one circular electrode and three concentric rings is designed for the second sensor. For each sensor, the specific geometry factor is determined and the impact of sensitivity towards small conductivity changes inside the tissue investigated. Furthermore, multiple
ex vivo
measurements on fresh pig bladders are carried out with each sensor. It is shown that both sensors reliably determine tissue impedance data that fit empirical tissue models. Conductivity values close to listed data of human urinary bladder are obtained. Ultimately, the novel ring sensor configuration turns out more favorable in terms of sensitivity distribution and yields more reproducible results than the square electrode arrangement.