title: Bio-inspired micro-fluidic angular-rate sensor for vestibular prostheses.
abstract: This paper presents an alternative approach for angular-rate sensing based on the way that the natural vestibular semicircular canals operate, whereby the inertial mass of a fluid is used to deform a sensing structure upon rotation. The presented gyro has been fabricated in a commercially available MEMS process, which allows for microfluidic channels to be implemented in etched glass layers, which sandwich a bulk-micromachined silicon substrate, containing the sensing structures. Measured results obtained from a proof-of-concept device indicate an angular rate sensitivity of less than 1 °/s, which is similar to that of the natural vestibular system. By avoiding the use of a continually-excited vibrating mass, as is practiced in today's state-of-the-art gyroscopes, an ultra-low power consumption of 300 μW is obtained, thus making it suitable for implantation.
authors: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Cyprus, Nicosia 1678, Cyprus. andreou.m.charalambos@ucy.ac.cy.
authors: Charalambos M
authors: CM
authors: Andreou
authors: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Cyprus, Nicosia 1678, Cyprus. pahitas@ucy.ac.cy.
authors: Yiannis
authors: Y
authors: Pahitas
authors: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Cyprus, Nicosia 1678, Cyprus. julio@ucy.ac.cy.
authors: Julius
authors: J
authors: Georgiou
mesh_terms: D005898:Glass / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D044085:Microfluidics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D012399:Rotation; D012665:Semicircular Canals / Q000502:physiology; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry; D012996:Solutions / Q000737:chemistry; D014722:Vestibule, Labyrinth / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D012996:Solutions; D012825:Silicon