Cecilia Alessandra Luna
BME PhD Proposal Presentation

Date: 2026-02-10
Time: 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Location / Meeting Link: HSRB II, N657

Committee Members:
David Myers, PhD (Advisor); Nicholas Au Young, MD, PhD; Brooks Lindsey, PhD; John Oshinski, PhD; Ellen Roche, PhD 


Title: An Ultrasound-Interrogated, Passive Microfluidic Sensor for Long-Term Intracranial Pressure Monitoring

Abstract:
More than 1.3 million patients are diagnosed each year with conditions that can result in elevated intracranial pressure (ICP), including hydrocephalus, traumatic brain injury, and brain tumors. Accurate and stable ICP monitoring is essential for clinical decision-making in these populations; however, existing implantable ICP sensors remain limited by reliance on active electronics, radiofrequency (RF) telemetry, and thin pressure-sensitive membranes. At microscale dimensions, these designs are inherently susceptible to drift, power constraints, infection risk, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) incompatibility, restricting their utility for long-term monitoring and limiting broader clinical adoption. To address the limitations of prior devices, this thesis proposes a fully passive, ultrasound-interrogated intracranial pressure sensor based on a mechanically responsive, microfabricated target that enables quantitative, drift-resistant ICP monitoring. By decoupling pressure transduction from electronics and leveraging widely available ultrasound systems, this work introduces a fundamentally different paradigm for wireless intracranial sensing. The research is organized into three aims. First, I will engineer microfluidic sensor geometries that produce robust, visually distinguishable B-mode ultrasound signatures across the physiological ICP range. Second, I will quantify device sensitivity, temperature response, and long-term stability. Third, I will validate intraparenchymal implantation, in vivo performance, and MRI compatibility in porcine models with close relevance to human neuroanatomy. Together, this research aims to establish a new paradigm of wireless, MR-safe ICP sensors capable of long-term quantitative monitoring.