Biomedical microsystems for minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment

Great significant progress has been made in the development of biomedical microdevices in recent years, and these devices are, now playing an important role in diagnosis and therapy. This paper presents a review of applications of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices for in vivo diagnosis and therapy, and endoscopic and catheter-based interventions. MEMS technology has enabled the further development of advanced biomedical microdevices for use in the human body by integration of sensors, actuators, and electronics into small medical devices for use in the body. In this paper we discuss three categories of such devices: navigation systems, sensors and actuators for catheters and endoscopes, and other minimally invasive techniques. A brief introduction to principles, device structures, packaging, and related issues is presented.