Temperature Dependence of the Beating Frequency of hiPSC-CMs Using a MEMS Force Sensor.

It is expected that human iPS cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) can be used to treat serious heart diseases. However, the properties and functions of human adult cardiomyocytes and hiPSC-CMs, including cell maturation, differ. In this study, we focused on the temperature dependence of hiPSC-CMs by integrating the temperature regulation system into our sensor platform, which can directly and quantitatively measure their mechanical motion. We measured the beating frequency of hiPSC-CMs at different environmental temperatures and found that the beating frequency increased as the temperature increased. Although the rate at which the beating frequency increased with temperature varied, the temperature at which the beating stopped was relatively stable at approximately 20 °C. The stopping of beating at this temperature was stable, even in immature hiPSC-CMs, and was considered to be a primitive property of cardiomyocytes.

New device with force sensors for laparoscopic liver resection - investigation of grip force and histological damage.

INTRODUCTION: As the benefits of minimally invasive surgery are recognized, the rate of laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) is rapidly increasing. Liver tissue is fragile compared to tissue of the stomach and colon. In endoscopic and robotic surgery, sufficient tactile sensation is yet to be obtained. Therefore, it is necessary to measure and indicate the grip force of forceps during surgery. We developed a new device consisting of force sensors and investigated its grip force and the resulting histological damage to liver tissue. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We measured the grip force generated during laparoscopic surgery in pigs using the forceps with pressure sensors developed by us. Throughout the hepatectomy, we measured the grip force generated by the forceps in real time. We investigated the histological damage to the liver caused by using the forceps with different grip forces. RESULTS: The subject produced a mean grip force of 1.75 N during the procedures. The maximum grip force was 3.38 N. By grasping the tissues of the liver with forceps, bleeding and destruction of the hepatic lobules were observed in a manner dependent on increasing grip force. CONCLUSION: The new device is necessary for preventing liver damage in laparoscopic hepatic resection.

MEMS-Based Pulse Wave Sensor Utilizing a Piezoresistive Cantilever.

This paper reports on a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based sensor for pulse wave measurement. The sensor consists of an air chamber with a thin membrane and a 300-nm thick piezoresistive cantilever placed inside the chamber. When the membrane of the chamber is in contact with the skin above a vessel of a subject, the pulse wave of the subject causes the membrane to deform, leading to a change in the chamber pressure. This pressure change results in bending of the cantilever and change in the resistance of the cantilever, hence the pulse wave of the subject can be measured by monitoring the resistance of the cantilever. In this paper, we report the sensor design and fabrication, and demonstrate the measurement of the pulse wave using the fabricated sensor. Finally, measurement of the pulse wave velocity (PWV) is demonstrated by simultaneously measuring pulse waves at two points using the two fabricated sensor devices. Furthermore, the effect of breath holding on PWV is investigated. We showed that the proposed sensor can be used to continuously measure the PWV for each pulse, which indicates the possibility of using the sensor for continuous blood pressure measurement.

Electrical detection SPR sensor with grating coupled backside illumination.

A current detection surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor with an Au grating on an n-Si wafer was proposed. SPR excitation light is illuminated from the backside of the device and diffracted by the grating. Since the diffraction provides matching conditions, SPR can be coupled to the Au/analyte interface. Since the coupled SPR excites free electrons on the Au surface, the SPR can be detected as a current signal by a Schottky barrier diode formed on the Au/n-Si interface. The obtained angular current spectrum showed clear agreement with SPR coupling theory, thereby confirming that the sample on the Au surface can be electrically detected using the proposed sensor.

Compact Surface Plasmon Resonance System with Au/Si Schottky Barrier.

Ethanol concentration was quantified by the use of a compact surface plasmon resonance (SPR) system, which electrically detects hot electrons via a Schottky barrier. Although it is well known that SPR can be used as bio/chemical sensors, implementation is not necessarily practical, due to the size and cost impediments associated with a system with variable wavelength or angle of incidence. However, scanning capability is not a prerequisite if the objective is to use SPR in a sensor. It is possible to build a small, inexpensive SPR sensor if the optics have no moving parts and a Schottky barrier is used for electrical current detection in place of a photodetector. This article reports on the design and performance of such a novel SPR sensor, and its application for quantifying ethanol concentration. As the concentration of ethanol is increased, the change in the angle dependence of the SPR current is observed. This change can be understood as a superposition of contributions of SPR coupled with the +3rd- and -3rd-order diffraction. Moreover, real-time monitoring of ethanol concentration was demonstrated using the proposed SPR system.

Three-Axis Ground Reaction Force Distribution during Straight Walking.

We measured the three-axis ground reaction force (GRF) distribution during straight walking. Small three-axis force sensors composed of rubber and sensor chips were fabricated and calibrated. After sensor calibration, 16 force sensors were attached to the left shoe. The three-axis force distribution during straight walking was measured, and the local features of the three-axis force under the sole of the shoe were analyzed. The heel area played a role in receiving the braking force, the base area of the fourth and fifth toes applied little vertical or shear force, the base area of the second and third toes generated a portion of the propulsive force and received a large vertical force, and the base area of the big toe helped move the body's center of mass to the other foot. The results demonstrate that measuring the three-axis GRF distribution is useful for a detailed analysis of bipedal locomotion.

NIR spectrometer using a Schottky photodetector enhanced by grating-based SPR.

We present a near-infrared (NIR) spectrum measurement method using a Schottky photodetector enhanced by surface plasmon resonance (SPR). An Au grating was fabricated on an n-type silicon wafer to form a Schottky barrier and act as an SPR coupler. The resulting photodetector provides wavelength-selective photodetection depending on the SPR coupling angle. A matrix was pre-calculated to describe this characteristic. The spectrum was obtained from this matrix and the measured photocurrents at various SPR coupling angles. Light with single and multiple wavelengths was tested. Comparative measurements showed that our method is able to detect spectra with a wavelength resolution comparable to that of a commercial spectrometer.

Depinning-Induced Capillary Wave during the Sliding of a Droplet on a Textured Surface.

Surfaces covered with hydrophobic micro-/nanoscale textures can allow water droplets to slide easily because of low contact angle hysteresis. In contrast to the case of a droplet sliding on a smooth surface, when a droplet slides on a textured surface, it must recede from the textures at its rear edge and the resultant depinning events induce a capillary wave on the surface of the droplet. Although this depinning-induced capillary wave can be observed to some extent through high-speed imaging, important parameters of the wave, such as the wavelength and frequency, and the factors that determine these parameters are not fully understood. We report direct measurements of this depinning-induced capillary wave using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based force sensors fabricated on a textured surface. Such sensor measurements reveal the frequency of the vibration occurring on the surface of the droplet, from which it is possible to calculate the wavelength of the capillary wave. We show that the frequency and wavelength of the depinning-induced capillary wave during the sliding of a water droplet on a micropillar array depend upon neither the size of the droplet nor its sliding velocity. However, the frequency (wavelength) decreases (increases) as the pitch of the micropillar array increases. We argue that the wavelength of the depinning-induced capillary wave is equal to the maximum length of the liquid bridges that develop at the micropillars before depinning. This hypothesis is confirmed by comparing the wavelengths obtained from the sensor measurements to the maximum liquid-bridge lengths calculated from observations using a high-speed camera.

A Tactile Sensor Using Piezoresistive Beams for Detection of the Coefficient of Static Friction.

This paper reports on a tactile sensor using piezoresistive beams for detection of the coefficient of static friction merely by pressing the sensor against an object. The sensor chip is composed of three pairs of piezoresistive beams arranged in parallel and embedded in an elastomer; this sensor is able to measure the vertical and lateral strains of the elastomer. The coefficient of static friction is estimated from the ratio of the fractional resistance changes corresponding to the sensing elements of vertical and lateral strains when the sensor is in contact with an object surface. We applied a normal force on the sensor surface through objects with coefficients of static friction ranging from 0.2 to 1.1. The fractional resistance changes corresponding to vertical and lateral strains were proportional to the applied force. Furthermore, the relationship between these responses changed according to the coefficients of static friction. The experimental result indicated the proposed sensor could determine the coefficient of static friction before a global slip occurs.

Out-of-plane actuation with a sub-micron initial gap for reconfigurable terahertz micro-electro-mechanical systems metamaterials.

We propose a reconfigurable terahertz (THz) metamaterial that can control the transmittance by out-of-plane actuation with changing the sub-micron gap distance between electrically coupled metamaterial elements. By using the out-of-plane actuation, it was possible to avoid contact between the coupled metamaterial elements across the small initial gap during the adjustment of the gap size. THz spectroscopy was performed during actuation, and the transmission dip frequency was confirmed to be tunable from 0.82 to 0.92 THz for one linear polarization state and from 0.80 to 0.91 THz for the other linear polarization; the two polarizations were orthogonal. The proposed approach will contribute to the development of tunable metamaterials based on structural deformations.

Mechanical impulses can control metaphase progression in a mammalian cell.

Chromosome segregation machinery is controlled by mechanochemical regulation. Tension in a mitotic spindle, which is balanced by molecular motors and polymerization-depolymerization dynamics of microtubules, is thought to be essential for determining the timing of chromosome segregation after the establishment of the kinetochore-microtubule attachments. It is not known, however, whether and how applied mechanical forces modulate the tension balance and chemically affect the molecular processes involved in chromosome segregation. Here we found that a mechanical impulse externally applied to mitotic HeLa cells alters the balance of forces within the mitotic spindle. We identified two distinct mitotic responses to the applied mechanical force that either facilitate or delay anaphase onset, depending on the direction of force and the extent of cell compression. An external mechanical impulse that physically increases tension within the mitotic spindle accelerates anaphase onset, and this is attributed to the facilitation of physical cleavage of sister chromatid cohesion. On the other hand, a decrease in tension activates the spindle assembly checkpoint, which impedes the degradation of mitotic proteins and delays the timing of chromosome segregation. Thus, the external mechanical force acts as a crucial regulator for metaphase progression, modulating the internal force balance and thereby triggering specific mechanochemical cellular reactions.

Measurement method for light transmittance of layered metamaterials.

We propose a method to measure light transmittance of layered metamaterials by placing the metamaterials directly on a Si photodiode. Our measurement method enables the direct detection of transmitted light that appears as an evanescent wave in natural materials. Here, we report the transmittance measurements of a typical metamaterial using this method. The metamaterial was composed of Ag/Al(2)O(3) layers and was fabricated by direct evaporation on the Si photodiode. The measured transmittance agrees with the simulated transmittance. Our results confirmed that this measurement method can determine the transmittance properties of metamaterials and that it is applicable to other types of metamaterials.

Direct physical exfoliation of few-layer graphene from graphite grown on a nickel foil using polydimethylsiloxane with tunable elasticity and adhesion.

We firstly introduce a facile method for the site-specific direct physical exfoliation of few-layer graphene sheets from cheap and easily enlargeable graphite grown on a Ni foil using an optimized polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamp. By decreasing the PDMS cross-linking time, the PDMS elasticity is reduced to ∼52 kPa, similar to that of a typical gel. As a result of this process, the PDMS becomes more flexible yet remains in a handleable state as a stamp. Furthermore, the PDMS adhesion to a graphite/Ni surface, as measured by the peel strength, increases to ∼5.1 N m⁻¹, which is approximately 17 times greater than that of typical PDMS. These optimized properties allow the PDMS stamp to have improved contact with the graphite/Ni surface, including the graphite wrinkles. This process is verified, and changes in surface morphology are observed using a 3D laser scanning microscope. Under conformal contact, the optimized PDMS stamp demonstrates the site-specific direct physical exfoliation of few-layer graphene sheets including mono- and bi-layer graphene sheets from the graphite/Ni substrate without the use of special equipment, conditions or chemicals. The number of layers of the exfoliated graphene and its high quality are revealed by the measured Raman spectroscopy. The exfoliation method using tunable elasticity and adhesion of the PDMS stamp can be used not only for cost-effective mass production of defect-less few-layer graphene from the graphite substrate for micro/nano device arrays but also for nano-contact printing of various structures, devices and cells.

Ratiometric optical temperature sensor using two fluorescent dyes dissolved in an ionic liquid encapsulated by Parylene film.

A temperature sensor that uses temperature-sensitive fluorescent dyes is developed. The droplet sensor has a diameter of 40 µm and uses 1 g/L of Rhodamine B (RhB) and 0.5 g/L of Rhodamine 110 (Rh110), which are fluorescent dyes that are dissolved in an ionic liquid (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethyl sulfate) to function as temperature indicators. This ionic liquid is encapsulated using vacuum Parylene film deposition (which is known as the Parylene-on-liquid-deposition (PoLD) method). The droplet is sealed by the chemically stable and impermeable Parylene film, which prevents the dye from interacting with the molecules in the solution and keeps the volume and concentration of the fluorescent material fixed. The two fluorescent dyes enable the temperature to be measured ratiometrically such that the droplet sensor can be used in various applications, such as the wireless temperature measurement of microregions. The sensor can measure the temperature of such microregions with an accuracy of 1.9 °C, a precision of 3.7 °C, and a fluorescence intensity change sensitivity of 1.0%/K. The sensor can measure temperatures at different sensor depths in water, ranging from 0 to 850 µm. The droplet sensor is fabricated using microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology and is highly applicable to lab-on-a-chip devices.

MEMS Differential Pressure Sensor with Dynamic Pressure Canceler for Precision Altitude Estimation.

Atmospheric pressure measurements based on microelectromechanical systems (MEMSs) can extend accessibility to altitude information. A differential pressure sensor using a thin cantilever and an air chamber is a promising sensing element for sub-centimeter resolution. However, its vulnerability to wind and the lack of height estimation algorithms for real-time operation are issues that remain to be solved. We propose a sensor "cap" that cancels the wind effect and noise by utilizing the airflow around a sphere. A set of holes on the spherical cap transmits only the atmospheric pressure to the sensor. In addition, we have developed a height estimation method based on a discrete transfer function model. As a result, both dynamic pressure and noise are suppressed, and height is estimated under a 5 m/s wind, reconstructing the trajectory with an estimation error of 2.8 cm. The developed sensing system enhances height information in outdoor applications such as unmanned aerial vehicles and wave height measurements.

Probing the mechanical architecture of the vertebrate meiotic spindle.

Accurate chromosome segregation during meiosis depends on the assembly of a microtubule-based spindle of proper shape and size. Current models for spindle-size control focus on reaction diffusion-based chemical regulation and balance in activities of motor proteins. Although several molecular perturbations have been used to test these models, controlled mechanical perturbations have not been possible. Here we report a piezoresistive dual cantilever-based system to test models for spindle-size control and examine the mechanical features, such as deformability and stiffness, of the vertebrate meiotic spindle. We found that meiotic spindles prepared in Xenopus laevis egg extracts were viscoelastic and recovered their original shape in response to small compression. Larger compression resulted in plastic deformation, but the spindle adapted to this change, establishing a stable mechanical architecture at different sizes. The technique we describe here may also be useful for examining the micromechanics of other cellular organelles.

Optical measurement of directional strain by scattering from nano-disk pairs aligned on an elastomer.

We propose a strain measurement method utilizing light scattered by a pair of nano-disks onto an elastomer sheet. Such nanoparticle pairs exhibit a scattering spectrum that is dependent on the gap distance and the incident light polarization. We utilized this behavior by forming nano-disk pairs with a diameter of 105 nm and a gap of 20-50 nm on a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sheet so that the gap could be altered with strain. The axial direction of the nano-disk pair could be identified by finding the peak wavelength maximum while rotating the polarization angle. Under tensile strain, the peak wavelength decreased from 674 nm at a strain of 0% to 637 nm at a strain of 9.5%, with a peak-shift sensitivity of  - 3.4 nm/% strain. Under compression strain, the peak wavelength increased from 681 nm at a strain of 0% to 705 nm at a strain of  - 3.8%, and the peak-shift sensitivity was  - 16 nm/% strain for strains of 0 to  - 1%. These experimentally determined peak scattering wavelength positions and peak-shift directions are consistent with the simulation results. This method offers wireless measurements of in situ strain on a nanometric scale.

Electrochemical impedance measurement of a carbon nanotube probe electrode.

We measured and analyzed the electrochemical impedance of carbon nanotube (CNT) probe electrodes fabricated through the physical separation of insulated CNT bridges. The fabricated CNT electrodes were free-standing CNTs that were completely covered with an insulator, except for their tips. Typical dimensions of the nanoelectrodes were 1-10 nm in CNT diameter, 80-300 nm in insulator diameter, 0.5-4 µm in exposed CNT length and 1-10 µm in probe length. The electrochemical impedance at frequencies ranging from 40 Hz to 1 MHz was measured in physiological saline. The measured impedance of the CNT electrode was constant at 32 MΩ at frequencies below 1 kHz and was inversely proportional to frequency at frequencies above 10 kHz. By means of comparison with the parasitic capacitive impedance of the insulator membrane, we confirmed that the electrode was sufficiently insulated such that the measured constant impedance was given by the exposed CNT tip. Consequently, we can use the CNT electrode for highly localized electrochemical impedance measurements below 1 kHz. Considering an equivalent circuit and the nanoscopic dimensions of the CNT electrode, we demonstrated that the constant impedance was governed by diffusion impedance, whereas the solution resistance, charge-transfer resistance and double-layer capacitance were negligible.

6-Axis Stress Tensor Sensor Using Multifaceted Silicon Piezoresistors.

A tensor sensor can be used to measure deformations in an object that are not visible to the naked eye by detecting the stress change inside the object. Such sensors have a wide range of application. For example, a tensor sensor can be used to predict fatigue in building materials by detecting the stress change inside the materials, thereby preventing accidents. In this case, a sensor of small size that can measure all nine components of the tensor is required. In this study, a tensor sensor consisting of highly sensitive piezoresistive beams and a cantilever to measure all of the tensor components was developed using MEMS processes. The designed sensor had dimensions of 2.0 mm by 2.0 mm by 0.3 mm (length by width by thickness). The sensor chip was embedded in a 15 mm3 cubic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) (polydimethylsiloxane) elastic body and then calibrated to verify the sensor response to the stress tensor. We demonstrated that 6-axis normal and shear Cauchy stresses with 5 kPa in magnitudes can be measured by using the fabricated sensor.

Conveyance of texture signals along a rat whisker.

Neuronal activities underlying a percept are constrained by the physics of sensory signals. In the tactile sense such constraints are frictional stick-slip events, occurring, amongst other vibrotactile features, when tactile sensors are in contact with objects. We reveal new biomechanical phenomena about the transmission of these microNewton forces at the tip of a rat's whisker, where they occur, to the base where they engage primary afferents. Using high resolution videography and accurate measurement of axial and normal forces at the follicle, we show that the conical and curved rat whisker acts as a sign-converting amplification filter for moment to robustly engage primary afferents. Furthermore, we present a model based on geometrically nonlinear Cosserat rod theory and a friction model that recreates the observed whole-beam whisker dynamics. The model quantifies the relation between kinematics (positions and velocities) and dynamic variables (forces and moments). Thus, only videographic assessment of acceleration is required to estimate forces and moments measured by the primary afferents. Our study highlights how sensory systems deal with complex physical constraints of perceptual targets and sensors.