Microarrow sensor array with enhanced skin adhesion for transdermal continuous monitoring of glucose and reactive oxygen species

Conventional blood sampling for glucose detection is prone to cause pain and fails to continuously record glucose fluctuations in vivo.Continuous glucose monitoring based on implantable electrodes could induce pain and potential tissue inflammation,and the presence of reactive oxygen species(ROS)due to inflammationmay affect glucose detection.Microneedle technology is less invasive,yet microneedle adhesion with skin tissue is limited.In this work,we developed a microarrow sensor array(MASA),which provided enhanced skin surface adhesion and enabled simultaneous detection of glucose and H_(2)O_(2)(representative of ROS)in interstitial fluid in vivo.The microarrows fabricated via laser micromachining were modified with functional coating and integrated into a patch of a three-dimensional(3D)microneedle array.Due to the arrow tip mechanically interlocking with the tissue,the microarrow array could better adhere to the skin surface after penetration into skin.The MASA was demonstrated to provide continuous in vivo monitoring of glucose and H_(2)O_(2) concentrations,with the detection of H_(2)O_(2) providing a valuable reference for assessing the inflammation state.Finally,the MASA was integrated into a monitoring system using custom circuitry.This work provides a promising tool for the stable and reliable monitoring of blood glucose in diabetic patients.

Development of Measurement System for Flow and Shape Using Array Ultrasonic Sensors

In Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, the fuel debris formed in the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) and Primary Containment Vessel (PCV) at Unit 1 - 3. To accelerate and decide further decommissioning steps of the FDNPP, it is crucial to obtain realistic information of the debris and localize contaminated water leakage from PCV. Due to high radiation and dark environment inside the PCV, investigating instruments and techniques should necessarily to meet specification of radiation resistance, waterproofness, dust resistance and so on. This study focuses on development of ultrasonic measurement system using a couple of sectorial array sensors to localize contaminated water leakage and visualize shape of object that repre- senting fuel debris, simultaneously. In this study, Total Focusing Method (TFM) and Ultrasonic Velocity Profiler (UVP) methods are considered to visualize object shape and flow pattern around it, respectively. To demonstrate applicability and reliability of developed measurement system with sectorial array sensors, a mock-up experiment result of simulated water leakage and fuel debris shape were discussed in this paper.

Direct-Ink-Writing Printed Strain Rosette Sensor Array with Optimized Circuit Layout

The full-field multiaxial strain measurement is highly desired for application of structural monitoring but still challenging,especially when the manufacturing and assembling for largearea sensing devices is quite difficult.Compared with the traditional procedure of gluing commercial strain gauges on the structure surfaces for strain monitoring,the recently developed Direct-Ink-Writing(DIW)technology provides a feasible way to directly print sensors on the structure.However,there are still crucial issues in the design and printing strategies to be probed and improved.Therefore,in this work,we propose an integrated strategy from layered circuit scheme to rapid manufacturing of strain rosette sensor array based on the DIW technology.Benefit from the innovative design with simplified circuit layout and the advantages of DIW for printing multilayer structures,here we achieve optimization design principle for strain rosette sensor array with scalable circuit layout,which enable a hierarchical printing strategy for multiaxial strain monitoring in large scale or multiple domains.The strategy is highly expected to adapt for the emerging requirement in various applications such as integrated soft electronics,nondestructive testing and small-batch medical devices.

A magnetic sensor array for spot welding quality monitor

Spot welding is affected by many factors and is difficult to monitor the nugget information with single sensor. In this paper, a new monitor system based on sensors array technique was developed for spot welding quality detection. The key part in the system is cross magnetic sensor array. It is composed of six magnetic sensors. An improved algorithm was proposed to extract the signal eigenvalue, which was based on principle component analysis. The results show that in the case of the 60 mm experiment, cross magnetic sensor array works well. And when the eigenvalues range of the cross magnetic sensor array is 0. 090 1 - 0. 098 2, the spots quality is good. The analysis of the eigenvalues of the cross magnetic sensor array allows us to determine whether the spot qualty is good or bad.

A Self-Powered Breath Analyzer Based on PANI/PVDF Piezo-Gas-Sensing Arrays for Potential Diagnostics Application

The increasing morbidity of internal diseases poses serious threats to human health and quality of life.Exhaled breath analysis is a noninvasive and convenient diagnostic method to improve the cure rate of patients. In this study, a self-powered breath analyzer based on polyaniline/polyvinylidene fluoride(PANI/PVDF) piezogas-sensing arrays has been developed for potential detection of several internal diseases. The device works by converting exhaled breath energy into piezoelectric gassensing signals without any external power sources. The five sensing units in the device have different sensitivities to various gas markers with concentrations ranging from 0 to 600 ppm. The working principle can be attributed to the coupling of the in-pipe gas-flow-induced piezoelectric effect of PVDF and gas-sensing properties of PANI electrodes. In addition, the device demonstrates its use as an ethanol analyzer to roughly mimic fatty liver diagnosis.This new approach can be applied to fabricating new exhaled breath analyzers and promoting the development of self-powered systems.

Simulation on the Models of Small Scale Passive Acoustic Sensor Arrays Based on Time-Delay Estimation Method

The passive acoustic localization with planar sensor array is introduced. Based on a method to eliminate the influence of effective sound velocity in passive detection, a new five-sensors solid array and its localization model are put forward. The factors that influence the precision of the localization are analyzed. Considering the errors from the factors synchronously, the simulation compares the solid array with the planar array. It can be proved that the five-sensor solid array is better than the four-sensor planar array in the estimation of bearing elements.

Research on data diagnosis method of acoustic array sensor device based on spectrogram

Acoustic array sensor device for partial discharge detection is widely used in power equipment inspection with the advantages of non-contact and precise positioning compared with partial discharge detection methods such as ultrasonic method and pulse current method.However,due to the sensitivity of the acoustic array sensor and the influence of the equipment operation site interference,the acoustic array sensor device for partial discharge type diagnosis by phase resolved partial discharge(PRPD)map might occasionally presents incorrect results,thus affecting the power equipment operation and maintenance strategy.The acoustic array sensor detection device for power equipment developed in this paper applies the array design model of equal-area multi-arm spiral with machine learning fast fourier transform clean(FFT-CLEAN)sound source localization identification algorithm to avoid the interference factors in the noise acquisition system using a single microphone and conventional beam forming algorithm,improves the spatial resolution of the acoustic array sensor device,and proposes an acoustic array sensor device based on the acoustic spectrogram.The analysis and diagnosis method of discharge type of acoustic array sensor device can effectively reduce the system misjudgment caused by factors such as the resolution of the acoustic imaging device and the time domain pulse of the digital signal,and reduce the false alarm rate of the acoustic array sensor device.The proposed method is tested by selecting power cables as the object,and its effectiveness is proved by laboratory verification and field verification.

Low-Complexity DOA Estimation of Noncircular Signals for Coprime Sensor Arrays

This paper presents a low?complexity method for the direction?of?arrival(DOA)estimation of noncircular signals for coprime sensor arrays.The noncircular property is exploited to improve the performance of DOA estimation.To reduce the computational complexity,the rotational invariance propagator method(RIPM)is included in the algorithm.First,the extended array output is reconstructed by combining the array output and its conjugated counterpart.Then,the RIPM is utilized to obtain two sets of DOA estimates for two subarrays.Finally,the true DOAs are estimated by combining the consistent results of the two subarrays.This illustrates the potential gain that both noncircularity and coprime arrays provide when considered together.The proposed algorithm has a lower computational complexity and a better DOA estimation performance than the standard estimation of signal parameters by the rotational invariance technique and Capon algorithm.Numerical simulation results illustrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed algorithm.

Fiber Grating-Based Strain Sensor Array for Health Monitoring of Pipelines

Pipelines are one of the most important modern energy transportation methods,used especially for the transportation of certain dangerous energy media materials such as crude oil,natural gas,and chemical raw materials.New requirements have been put forward for the health monitoring and early security warning of pipelines because of the large-scale and complicated development trend of the pipe network system.To achieve an accurate assessment of the health conditions of pipeline infrastructure,obtaining as many precise operating parameters as possible,particularly at some critical parts of the pipeline,is necessary.Therefore,a novel type of fiber grating strain sensor array is proposed herein to monitor the pipeline hoop strain.The sensor utilizes fiber grating characteristics such as light weight,corrosion resistance,remote transmission,and strong environmental adaptability.The fiber containing the grating measurement points is implanted into the composite material to complete the sensitization encapsulation and protection of the bare fiber grating.The design of the sensor array fulfills the requirements for monitoring pipeline mass data,making it easy to form a pipeline health monitoring sensor network.The sensor sensitivity is researched by using a combination of theoretical and experimental analysis.A sensitivity test,as well as linearity and stability tests,are performed on the sensor.The experimental results show that the average sensitivity of the sensor is 14.86 pm/με,and the error from the theoretical calculation analysis value is 8.75%.Due to its high reliability,good linear response and long-term stability,and the ability to reflect the exact strain change of the outer wall of the pipeline,the designed sensor can support longterm online pipeline monitoring.The fiber grating sensor array network has successfully realized the monitoring of the pipeline’s internal operation by using external strain changes.In addition to the performance benefits,there are other merits associated with the applicability of the sensor namely simple structure,compact size,manufacturing ease,and exterior installation ease.

Visualisation of air–water bubbly column flow using array Ultrasonic Velocity Profiler

In the present work, an experimental study of bubbly two-phase flow in a rectangular bubble column was performed using two ultrasonic array sensors, which can measure the instantaneous velocity of gas bubbles on multiple measurement lines. After the sound pressure distribution of sensors had been evaluated with a needle hydrophone technique, the array sensors were applied to two-phase bubble col- umn, To assess the accuracy of the measurement system with array sensors for one and two-dimensional velocity, a simultaneous measurement was performed with an optical measurement technique called particle image velocimetry （PIV）. Experimental results showed that accuracy of the measurement system with array sensors is under 10% for one-dimensional velocity profile measurement compared with PIV technique. The accuracy of the system was estimated to be under 20% along the mean flow direction in the case of two-dimensional vector mapping.

Meso-Scale VOC-Mixture Analyzer with Tunable Separation and Microsensor Array Detection

A novel portable instrument developed for field determinations of complex mixtures of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is described.The key features of the instrument are a miniature multi-stage adsorbent preconcentrator/focuser,two series-coupled separation columns with pressure and temperature tunable retention control,and an integrated array of four chemiresistor (CR) sensors coated with Au-thiolate monolayer-protected nanoparticles (MPN).MPN-CR array response patterns are used with retention times to identify eluting vapors.Air is used as the carrier gas.Calibrations of 20 common indoor air contaminants gave LODs in the range of 0.05 ng/g～0.53 ng/g for a 1 L sample volume.Results of preliminary analyses of characteristic VOCs generated from U.S.currency as well as vapor-phase markers of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) at low-or sub-ng/g levels are presented.

Recognizing frequency characteristics of gas sensor array

A novel method based on independent component analyzing (ICA) in frequency domain to distinguish the frequency characteristics of multi-sensor system is presented. The conditions of this type of ICA are considered and each step of resolving the problem is discussed. For a two gas sensor array, the frequency characteristics including amplitude-frequency and phase-frequency are recognized by this method, and cross-sensitivity between them is also eliminated. From the principle of similarity, the recognition mean square error is no more than 0.085.

Micro Gas Sensor Array for Monitoring Highly Toxic Gases

Recently,the possibility of a disaster due to the improper use of highly toxic gases which are known as agents throughout the world has been increased.Therefore,the development of technology for countermeasure against CWA has been highly demanded.In this study,thick film SnO_2-based gas sensing devices were prepared and the sensing properties for the four different kinds of simulants such as dimethyl methyl phosphonate (DMMP),acetonitrile,dichloromethane and dipropylene glycol methyl ether have been investigated.And a micro sensor array consists of six devices was prepared using MEMS technology to provide high selective and reliable sensing system for the detection of chemical warfare agents.The micro gas sensor array prepared showed good sensitivity and selectivity to CWA.

A Novel Structure of LAPS Array for Cell-Based Biosensor

The light-addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS) is a semiconductor-based cellular biosensor with an electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor (EIS) structure.By depositing biocompatible layers on the sensing surface for cell culture, it can be used to detect bioelectrical parameters of cells.The characteristic curve for photocurrent versus applied bias voltage to the system shows a current-voltage curve (Ⅰ-Ⅴcurve).This technique can be used to detect the action potential changes towards different drugs based on the bias voltage dependence of an optical current,and provides a dynamic system by scanning light beam at the very cell on the sensor device.The LAPS overcomes the limitation of recording sites,but high spatial resolution and sensitivity are also paramount.This paper discussed a novel structure of LAPS array for extracellular monitoring to decrease potential noise level.Both characteristics of active recording array areas and cell culture conditions are measured.

Polarization quaternion DOA estimation based on vector MISC array

This paper examines the direction of arrival(DOA)estimation for polarized signals impinging on a sparse vector sensor array which is based on the maximum interelement spacing constraint(MISC).The vector array effectively utilizes the polarization domain information of incident signals,and the quaternion model is adopted for signals polarization characteristic maintenance and computational burden reduction.The features of MISC arrays are crucial to the mutual coupling effects reduction and higher degrees of freedom(DOFs).The quaternion data model based on vector MISC arrays is established,which extends the scalar MISC array into the vector MISC array.Based on the model,a quaternion multiple signal classification(MUSIC)algorithm based on vector MISC arrays is proposed for DOA estimation.The algorithm combines the advantages of the quaternion model and the vector MISC array to enhance the DOA estimation performance.Analytical simulations are performed to certify the capability of the algorithm.

Porous Silicon as a Carrier of Sensing Materials in Sensors

Novel potassium ion selective electrodes (K^+ISEs) and cDNA array sensors based on porous silicon (PS) have been developed.The calibration curve for the K^+ISEs is linear within a wide range of pK=2.0～6.0 with the slope of 56 mV per decade,which is near Nernst response.The response time and detection limit are within 31 s and 0.5μmol/L,respectively.The selective coefficient for Na^+ is-3.8,satisfies the requirement for the assay of blood potassium.The response variation is within 2 mV during 2 months.The binding capacity,the dynamic range and the detection limit of the DNA sensors were improved by replacing glass slide with PS substrates.The cDNA array sensors can bear 80℃of high temperature,75% of humidity,3.6 kLx of irradiation and keep stable within 10 days when they are exposed in air.Good performances of the K^+ISE and the cDNA array sensor are attributed to the large internal surface area and the easily modified microstructure of PS.

Demonstration of a 4-Sensor Folded Sangac Sensor Array with Active Phase Biasing Scheme

A 4-sensor folded Sagnac sensor array with an active phase biasing scheme is presented. The overlapping of the signal and noise pulse is avoided through a time division multiplexing scheme and the noise pulses is eliminated almost completely. The scheme can address 16 sensors when the repeat frequency of input pulse is at 68.3 kHz. The alternative phase bias technique is demonstrated, which can provide sensors with stable phase bias. The future benefit of this technique is that the 1/f noise in the circuit can be suppressed.

Optical sensor array for the discrimination of liquors

The discrimination of liquors plays a vital role in our daily life as a large amount of cheap alcoholic beverages and low-quality counterfeits greatly damage the health of consumers.Array-based optical sensors have been developed as a fast and effective tool to discriminate multi-analytes or complex mixtures with similar structures,such as acids,esters,aldehydes and ketones.Over the past decades,optical sensor arrays have demonstrated remarkable capabilities in fast and accurate detection of diverse types,qualities,and authentic liquors.The identification strategy mainly focuses on the specific/non-specific interactions of flavor compounds in liquors with sensor elements.The cross-reactive optical signal readouts from the combination of sensor elements with liquors and multiple machine learning algorithms are essential to ensure the discriminatory capability of sensing system.In this review,we discuss the advantages and recent advances in pattern recognition of liquors in terms of the design of various types of sensing materials and the construction strategies of sensor arrays.

On the Study of Multi-Gas Data Acquisition System Based on PCI1711 Card

A data acquisition system for testing gas sensor array response to multi-gas is presented.The testing system is based on the character of the gas response of metal oxide semiconductor gas sensor array.The data acquisition is realized automatically through the real time controlling of the data acquisition card PCI1711.This system is highly attractive for electronic nose,which is a powerful tool for the discrimination of gases.

Ultrasonic guided wave inspection with array sensors

Ultrasonic guided wave becomes one of promising tool for monitoring various types of structures such as large steel plates, vessels, and pipes in oil, chemical or nuclear industry, because guided waves have ability to travel wide range of the target structure in a single position. However, analysis of guided wave signals acquired from structure is difficult on account of low S/N ratio and its dispersive nature. To improve S/N ratio and overcome dispersion effect, focusing techniques for guided waves are needed. Thus, in this study, focusing techniques for guided waves were developed in order to improve long range inspection ability, and performance of the developed techniques was verified by experiments.