Simulation Analysis of a Conformal Patch Sensor for Skin Tension and Swelling Detection

Intravenous cannulation (IV) has a potential medical complication known as extravasation which arise when the fluid accumulates in the subcutaneous tissue layer causing skin swelling symptom. The cost incurred for the addition hospitalization stay and treatment due to the extravasation complication is high. The current detection devices for extravasation is expensive, bulky and it is not suitable for the daily routine IV cannulation administration. In this work, a wearable and conformal sensor patch was developed for detection of skin swelling and tension. Structural simulation analysis and ex-vivo characterization of thin film metal (Ti/Cu/Au: 20 nm/ 2 μm /20 nm) were performed and result were presented in the paper. The sensor patch was able to detect skin tension and swelling of less than 3mm deformation height caused by 2-ml of fluid infusion. The sensitivity of the electrode sensor was 45% change of resistance per ml volume of infused solution.