Volumetric Flow Measurement Using an Implantable CMUT Array

This paper describes volumetric-flow velocity measurement using an implantable capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) array. The array is comprised of multiple-concentric CMUT rings for ultrasound transmission and an outmost annular CMUT array for ultrasound reception. Microelectromechanical-system (MEMS) fabrication technology allows reception CMUT on this flowmeter to be implemented with a different membrane thickness and gap height than that of transmission CMUTs, optimizing the performance of these two different kinds of devices. The silicon substrate of this 2-mm-diameter CMUT ring array was bulk micromachined to approximately 80 to 100 μm thick, minimizing tissue disruption. The blood-flow velocity was detected using pulse ultrasound Doppler by comparing the demodulated echo ultrasound with the incident ultrasound. The demodulated ultrasound signal was sampled by a pulse delayed in time domain from the transmitted burst, which corresponds to detecting the signal at a specific distance. The flow tube/vessel diameter was detected through the time-flight delay difference from near and far wall reflections, which was measured from the ultrasound pulse echo. The angle between the ultrasound beam and the flow was found by using the cross-correlation from consecutive ultrasound echoes. Artificial blood flowing through three different polymer tubes was experimented with, while keeping the same volumetric flow rate. The discrepancy in flow measurement results between this CMUT meter and a calibrated laser Doppler flowmeter is less than 5%.