AN ULTRAMINIATURE CMOS PRESSURE SENSOR FOR A MULTIPLEXED CARDIOVASCULAR CATHETER

This paper reports a multiplexed ultraminiature pressure sensor designed for use in a cardiovascular catheter. The sensor operates from only two leads, which are shared by two sensors per catheter. The sensing chip measures 350-mu-m wide by 1.4 mm long by 100-mu-m thick. CMOS readout circuitry at the sensing site converts applied pressure to a frequency variation in the supply current, which is detected at the end of the catheter by a microprocessor-controlled interface. The nominal pressure sensitivity is 2 kHz/fF about a zero-pressure output frequency of 2.7 MHz. This on-site circuitry contains two reference capacitors which allow external compensation for nonlinearity and temperature sensitivity and has an idle-state power dissipation of less than 50-mu-W. With the transducer sealed at ambient pressure, the device can resolve pressure variations of about 3 mmHg, while vacuum-sealed devices do considerably better and should permit < 2 mmHg resolution in practical systems.