Implantable Bio-MEMS applications: A review

Abstract

Microelectromechanical systems, generally referred as MEMS, are developed using integrated technology on microscale. They are a combination of electronics, electrical and mechanical elements. These devices are capable of sensing, actuating and controlling. MEMS finds application in wide areas but its applications in medicine and biology are most popular. When MEMS technology is applied to biology, it is termed as Bio-MEMS. Bio-MEMS have immense potential and they can be used in wide applications, be it drug delivery, bio-sensing or single cell manipulations. In this paper focus is laid on some of the most popularly used applications of implantable Bio-MEMS including micropumps, biosensors, microrobots, stents and pacemakers that were designed to offer better diagnostic and therapeutic ways. Micropumps are used for drug delivery, implantable biosensors are used to perform in vivo diagnostics, microrobots make medical procedures les invasive, stents are used for widening the blocked artery, and pacemakers are use to restore the normal beating of the heart.