ABSTRACT
SUMMARY This chapter presents an introduction to micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), which includes microminiature sensors and actuators with biomedical applications. In the section on actuators, artificial muscle, nanotweezers for micromanipulations, drug delivery systems, biomimetic ciliary actuators, and so on are discussed. In the section on sensors, several examples are presented, including triglyceride sensing, protein detection, glucose detection, force sensing for protein delivery, tissue softness characterization, blood cell counting, and acoustic sensing. Sensor and actuator systems are realized using various technologies, including electrostatic, electromagnetic, piezoelectric, and thermo-pneumatic principles, and the use of multifunctional materials, such as electroactive, bimetallic, and shape memory alloys.
