Page 22 - An Introduction to Microelectromechanical Systems Engineering

CHAPTER 1
MEMS: A Technology from Lilliput

“...And I think to myself, what a wonderful world...oh yeah!”
—Louis Armstrong

The Promise of Technology

The ambulance sped down the Denver highway carrying Mr. Rosnes Avon to the
hospital. The flashing lights illuminated the darkness of the night, and the siren
alerted those drivers who braved the icy cold weather. Mrs. Avon’s voice was clearly
shaken as she placed the emergency telephone call a few minutes earlier. Her hus-
band was complaining of severe palpitations in his heart and shortness of breath.
She sat next to him in the rear of the ambulance and held his hand in silence, but her
eyes could not hide her concern and fear. The attending paramedic clipped onto the
patient’s left arm a small device from which a flexible cable wire led to a digital dis-
play that was showing the irregular cardiac waveform. A warning sign in the upper
right-hand corner of the display was flashing next to the low blood-pressure read-
ing. In a completely mechanical manner reflecting years of experience, the para-
medic removed an adhesive patch from a plastic bag and attached it to Mr. Avon’s
right arm. The label on the discarded plastic package read “sterile microneedles.”
Then, with her right hand, the paramedic inserted into the patch a narrow plastic
tube, while the fingers of her left hand proceeded to magically play the soft keys on
the horizontal face of an electronic instrument. She dialed in an appropriate dosage
of a new drug called Nocilis™. Within minutes, the display was showing a recover-
ing cardiac waveform, and the blood pressure warning faded in the dark green color
of the screen. The paramedic looked with a smile at Mrs. Avon, who acknowledged
with a deep sigh of relief.
Lying in his hospital bed the next morning, Mr. Avon was slowly recovering
from the disturbing events of the prior night. He knew that his youthful days were
behind him, but the news from his physician that he needed a pacemaker could only
cause him anguish. With an electronic stylus in his hand, he continued to record his
thoughts and feelings on what appeared to be a synthetic white pad. The pen recog-
nized the pattern of his handwriting and translated it to text for the laptop computer
resting on the desk by the window. He drew a sketch of the pacemaker that Dr.
Harte showed him in the morning; the computer stored an image of his lifesaving
instrument. A little device barely the size of a silver dollar would forever remain in
his chest and take control of his heart’s rhythm. But a faint smile crossed Mr. Avon’s
lips when he remembered the doctor mentioning that the pacemaker would monitor
his level of physical activity and correspondingly adjust his heart rate. After all, he

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