Title :
Detachable Silicon Microneedle Stamps for Allergy Skin Prick Testing
Author :
Trautmann, A. ; Heuck, F. ; Denfeld, R. ; Ruther, P. ; Paul, O.
Author_Institution :
Microsystems Materials Laboratory (MML), Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK), University of Freiburg, Georges-Koehler-Allee 103, D-79110 Freiburg, Germany
Abstract :
We report on the fabrication and application of novel silicon microneedle chips for allergy skin prick testing. Due to the mask layout the needle chips can be directly detached from the wafer after their double-sided fabrication process. Silicon wafers with a total of 117 chips implementing various designs are fabricated. The chip center features a hole with a diameter of 0.5 mm into which a 25-gauge hypodermic needle can be easily inserted to directly detach the chips from the wafer without dicing. This enables the disposable microneedle chips to be handled without harming the needle structures. Skin prick tests performed with the microneedle stamps showed excellent results in comparison with common lancet pricking.
Keywords :
Annealing; Dry etching; Fabrication; Lithography; Needles; Residual stresses; Silicon; Skin; Tensile stress; Testing;
Conference_Titel :
Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, 2006. MEMS 2006 Istanbul. 19th IEEE International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Istanbul, Turkey
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-9475-5
DOI :
10.1109/MEMSYS.2006.1627829