A new type of micropump using ICPF actuator

Summary form only given. Intracavity intervention is expected to become increasingly popular in the medical practice, both for diagnosis and for surgery. In this paper, we propose a new prototype model of a micropump using ionic conducting polymer film (ICPF) actuator as the servo actuator. This micropump consists of two one-way valves that make use of the same ICPF actuator. The overall size of this micropump prototype is 12 mm in diameter and 20 mm in length. The actuating mechanism is as follows: 1) as the diaphragm is bent to the anode side by applying electricity, the volume of the pump chamber increases, thus resulting in the inflow of liquid from the inlet to the chamber; 2) by changing the current direction, the volume of the pump chamber decreases, resulting the liquid flow from the chamber to the outlet; 3) the ICPF actuator is supplied with a sine voltage and the micropump provides liquid flow from the inlet to the outlet continuously. The characteristic of the micropump is measured. The experimental results indicate that the micropump can provide the satisfactory responses.