Defecation Warning Monitor Based on ScAlN Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Transducer (PMUT)

This study proposes an innovative health management solution to address the defecation care needs of the elderly population. Traditional post-defecation care methods have significant limitations, particularly imposing a considerable psychological burden on patients. By leveraging the rich physiologi...

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Main Authors: Tao Yao, Jianwei Zong, Haoyue Zhang, Zhiyuan Hou, Liang Lou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Micromachines
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/16/5/498
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author Tao Yao
Jianwei Zong
Haoyue Zhang
Zhiyuan Hou
Liang Lou
author_facet Tao Yao
Jianwei Zong
Haoyue Zhang
Zhiyuan Hou
Liang Lou
author_sort Tao Yao
collection DOAJ
description This study proposes an innovative health management solution to address the defecation care needs of the elderly population. Traditional post-defecation care methods have significant limitations, particularly imposing a considerable psychological burden on patients. By leveraging the rich physiological information contained in bowel sounds, in this work, we designed and implemented a wearable defecation warning monitor based on scandium aluminum nitride (ScAlN) piezoelectric thin films and piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers (PMUTs). The proposed device mainly incorporates two core components: a bowel sound signal acquisition module and a real-time signal display graphical user interface (GUI) developed using the MATLAB R2023a platform. The research focuses on the systematic characterization and comparative analysis of the sound pressure sensitivity of three different signal readout structures. Experimental results demonstrate that the differential readout structure exhibits superior sensitivity. By continuously monitoring bowel sounds in healthy subjects both with and without the urge to defecate using the defecation warning monitor and a modified stethoscope, and conducting a comparative analysis of the experimental data, it is verified that the defecation warning monitor has significant advantages in clinical applications and demonstrates promising potential for defecation warning monitoring.
format Article
id doaj-art-2f5e4127196f48ebb48981b830b59bac
institution OA Journals
issn 2072-666X
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher MDPI AG
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series Micromachines
spelling doaj-art-2f5e4127196f48ebb48981b830b59bac2025-08-20T02:33:51ZengMDPI AGMicromachines2072-666X2025-04-0116549810.3390/mi16050498Defecation Warning Monitor Based on ScAlN Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Transducer (PMUT)Tao Yao0Jianwei Zong1Haoyue Zhang2Zhiyuan Hou3Liang Lou4School of Microelectronics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 201800, ChinaSchool of Microelectronics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 201800, ChinaSchool of Microelectronics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 201800, ChinaSchool of Microelectronics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 201800, ChinaSchool of Microelectronics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 201800, ChinaThis study proposes an innovative health management solution to address the defecation care needs of the elderly population. Traditional post-defecation care methods have significant limitations, particularly imposing a considerable psychological burden on patients. By leveraging the rich physiological information contained in bowel sounds, in this work, we designed and implemented a wearable defecation warning monitor based on scandium aluminum nitride (ScAlN) piezoelectric thin films and piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers (PMUTs). The proposed device mainly incorporates two core components: a bowel sound signal acquisition module and a real-time signal display graphical user interface (GUI) developed using the MATLAB R2023a platform. The research focuses on the systematic characterization and comparative analysis of the sound pressure sensitivity of three different signal readout structures. Experimental results demonstrate that the differential readout structure exhibits superior sensitivity. By continuously monitoring bowel sounds in healthy subjects both with and without the urge to defecate using the defecation warning monitor and a modified stethoscope, and conducting a comparative analysis of the experimental data, it is verified that the defecation warning monitor has significant advantages in clinical applications and demonstrates promising potential for defecation warning monitoring.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/16/5/498ScAlNbowel soundsdefecation warning
spellingShingle Tao Yao
Jianwei Zong
Haoyue Zhang
Zhiyuan Hou
Liang Lou
Defecation Warning Monitor Based on ScAlN Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Transducer (PMUT)
Micromachines
ScAlN
bowel sounds
defecation warning
title Defecation Warning Monitor Based on ScAlN Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Transducer (PMUT)
title_full Defecation Warning Monitor Based on ScAlN Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Transducer (PMUT)
title_fullStr Defecation Warning Monitor Based on ScAlN Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Transducer (PMUT)
title_full_unstemmed Defecation Warning Monitor Based on ScAlN Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Transducer (PMUT)
title_short Defecation Warning Monitor Based on ScAlN Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Transducer (PMUT)
title_sort defecation warning monitor based on scaln piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer pmut
topic ScAlN
bowel sounds
defecation warning
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/16/5/498
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AT jianweizong defecationwarningmonitorbasedonscalnpiezoelectricultrasonictransducerpmut
AT haoyuezhang defecationwarningmonitorbasedonscalnpiezoelectricultrasonictransducerpmut
AT zhiyuanhou defecationwarningmonitorbasedonscalnpiezoelectricultrasonictransducerpmut
AT lianglou defecationwarningmonitorbasedonscalnpiezoelectricultrasonictransducerpmut