Implantable Bluetooth Low Energy Embedded Sensor System

Abstract

High bladder pressure in patients suffering from neurogenic bladder dysfunction can have serious consequences on patients' mental and physical health. Constant monitoring of the bladder pressures allow physicians to mitigate the risk of high pressure. Two commonly used techniques in the clinical practices to monitor this pressure are catheter-based and wireless techniques. Catheter-based pressure monitoring is done by inserting a sensor into the bladder from urethra. Even though this approach has a higher accuracy compared to the wireless sensors, it poses a high risk of infection. Pressure monitoring using a wireless sensor, on the other hand, improves patients' comfort and reduces the risk of infection. Utilizing wireless communication techniques in implantable health monitoring devices has gained considerable attention in recent years. This thesis covers the implementation of an implantable embedded sensor system using a wireless communication technique based on Bluetooth low energy. The implementation is based on the Nordic Semiconductor's nRF52840 SoC. Tests and development are conducted on Nordic's nRF52840 development kit. We additionally propose a two-layer printed circuit board. The sensory system is aimed to communicate with a smartphone application in order to monitor the pressure. The proposed printed circuit board has a dimension of 27.43 mm * 27.58 mm. Current consumption of the implementation is 0.915 mA in the IDLE state and $1.114 mA in the operating mode.