Title: A novel device for detection of soft tissue inflammation: dynamic behaviour of a functionally graded AFM cantilever

Authors: Keikhosrow Firoozbakhsh; Mohammad Taghi Ahmadian; Masoud Rahaeifard; Mohammad Hossain Kahrobaiyan

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Azadi Avenue, P.O. Box 11155-9567, Tehran, Iran. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Azadi Avenue, P.O. Box 11155-9567, Tehran, Iran. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Azadi Avenue, P.O. Box 11155-9567, Tehran, Iran. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Azadi Avenue, P.O. Box 11155-9567, Tehran, Iran

Abstract: Atomic force microscopes (AFM) are devices used for surface roughness detection. A novel AFM device composed of a tip attached to a cantilever beam is proposed for precise soft-tissue-inflammation detection. It is assumed that the beam is made of functionally graded materials (FGMs) with properties varying throughout the thickness. Two low resonant frequencies and the sensitivities of the AFM cantilever are studied. A relationship is developed to evaluate the sensitivity of a FGM micro-cantilever beam. The effects of mass distributions of material constituents, surface contact stiffness, and geometric parameters on the resonant frequencies and sensitivities are studied. The high sensitivity of such device to the stiffness of the contact surface is proposed to be the recognition key for soft tissue inflammation.

Keywords: atomic force microscopy; AFM; micro cantilevers; functionally graded materials; FGMs; soft tissue inflammation; sensitivity analysis; contact stiffness; cantilever beams; inflammation detection.

DOI: 10.1504/IJECB.2012.049803

International Journal of Experimental and Computational Biomechanics, 2012 Vol.2 No.1, pp.1 - 9

Published online: 11 Aug 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article