The Design of a uC (microcontrollor) or uP (microprocessor) based sodium sensor to measure on-line Na+ concentration in whole human blood or plasma during prostate surgery

ABSTRACT MSc. Thesis The Design of a \xC or |j.P Based Sodium Sensor to Measure On-Line Na+ Concentration in Whole Human Blood or Plasma During Prostate Surgery Ahmet Hayrettin YÜZER İnonu University Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department 112 + viii pages 2002 Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. F. Yalçmkaya In this work, a sodium sensor measuring sodium ion concentration in whole human blood or plasma was studied. In the contemporary world of clinical medicine, Na+ ion concentration can be measured via different methods in different kinds of media. For a patient undergoing TURP surgery, the sodium ion concentration measurement must be done before the operation started. To do that, the taken blood sample need to be sent away to get the sample tested or measured with respect to sodium ion concentration. The critical point is that in case Na+ concentration limits exceed or lack the normal physiological values due to different liquids and/or electrolytes given to or taken away from the human body during surgery, additional precautions must immediately be taken by medical personnel attending the surgery. This action might prevent any further life hazard or the risk of patient to be axe. But this process is still a time-consuming and dangerous activity on behalf of the patient waiting in the operation theatre. Therefore, this thesis helps to develop an on-line measuring system for emergency cases or for patient currently undergoing TURP surgery. To that end, a sensor system has been prepared, interfaced, programmed and tested. The Lagrange Interpolation has been used in uC programming to measure in- between values. The measuring system for data acquisition, in-between value estimation and displaying is made of the components: a working electrode, a reference electrode, interfacing electronics circuitry and 80C535 u?. The system has successfully been tested. Keywords: Prostate, Sodium Sensor, |aC Programming, Lagrange Interpolation, Ionophore, Reference Electrode, 80C535 uC, Instrumentation Amplifier, TURP Surgery n