Conformal Devices for Thermal Sensing and Heating in Biomedical and Human–Machine Interaction Applications

Abstract

Thermal ablation has been adopted as one of the most common cancer treatment approaches in medical surgery. By increasing the temperature (>50 °C) on the cells, the cells are destroyed because of denaturation. Herein, an ultrathin Archimedean spiral pattern heater/sensor technology is introduced which can perform ablation by attaching conformally onto the organs for precise heating and temperature sensing. In the heater mode, the heater temperature is linearly proportional to the input joule heating power up to 400 mW. In the sensor mode, the temperature of the conformal metal wire is also linearly related to the resistance by the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR). The conformal heater to perform ex vivo ablation on the porcine liver is utilized. By further integrating the devices with robotic palm and perform heat‐and‐sense interactions, a human–machine interface (HMI) apparatus is demonstrated which can be potentially applied in surgical robots or other tactile stimulation systems.