Bio-Inspired Active Electrolocation Sensors for Inspection of Tube Systems

Abstract:

At night, weakly electric fish Gnathonemus petersii use active electrolocation to scan their environment with self generated electric fields. Nearby objects distort the electric fields and are recognized as electric images on the electroreceptive skin surface of the animal. By analyzing the electric image, G. petersii can sense an object’s distance, dimensions and electrical properties. The principles and algorithms of active electrolocation can be applied to catheter-based sensor systems for analysing wall changes in fluid filled tube systems, for example atherosclerotic plaques of the coronary blood vessels. We used a basic atherosclerosis model of synthetic blood vessels and plaques, which were scanned with a ring electrode catheter applying active electrolocation. Based on the electric images of the plaques and the evaluation of bio-inspired image parameters, the plaque’s fine-structure could be assessed. Our results show that imaging through active electrolocation principally has the potential to detect and characterize atherosclerotic lesions.

• Periodical: Advances in Science and Technology (Volume 84)
• Pages: 45-50
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AST.84.45
• Online since: September 2012
• Authors: Martin Gottwald, Gerhard von der Emde
• Keywords: Active Electrolocation, Bio-Inspired, Electric Image, Electrolocation Sensors, Wall Inspection

References

[1] H. Lissmann, On the function and evolution of electric organs in fish, J. Exp. Biol. 35 (1958) 156.

[2] T. Szabo, Sense organs of the lateral line system in some electric fish of the Gymnotidae, Mormyridae and Gymnarchidae, J. Morphol. 117 (1965) 229–249.

DOI: 10.1002/jmor.1051170208

[3] M. Hollmann, J. Engelmann, and G. von der Emde, Distribution, density and morphology of electroreceptor organs in mormyrid weakly electric fish: anatomical investigations of a receptor mosaic, J. Zool. 276 (2008) 149–158.

DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7998.2008.00465.x

[4] R. Budelli, A. Caputi, L. Gomez, D. Rother, and K. Grant, The electric image in Gnathonemus petersii, J. Physiol. Paris 96 (2002) 421–429.

DOI: 10.1016/s0928-4257(03)00020-2

[5] G. von der Emde, Non-visual environmental imaging and object detection through active electrolocation in weakly electric fish, J. Comp. Physiol. A 192 (2006) 601–612.

DOI: 10.1007/s00359-006-0096-7

[6] G. von der Emde, S. Schwarz, L. Gomez, R. Budelli, and K. Grant, Electric fish measure distance in the dark, Nature 395 (1998) 890–894.

DOI: 10.1038/27655

[7] G. von der Emde, Remote sensing with electricity: Active electrolocation in fish and technical devices, Fortschritt-Berichte VDI 15 (2004) 351-357.

[8] M. Metzen, S. Biswas, H. Bousack, M. Gottwald, K. Mayekar, and G. von der Emde, A biomimetic active electrolocation sensor for detection of atherosclerotic lesions in blood vessels, IEEE Sens. J. 12 (2012) 325-331.

DOI: 10.1109/jsen.2010.2079928

[9] M. Gottwald, K. Mayekar, V. Reiswich, H. Bousack, Deepak Damalla, S. Biswas, M. Metzen and G. von der Emde, Inspection and analysis of the walls of fluid filled tubes by active electrolocation: a biomimetic approach, Proc. SPIE Bioinspiration, Biomimetics, and Bioreplication 7975 (2011) 797510-1-797510-15.

DOI: 10.1117/12.877763

[10] R. Virmani, A. P. Burke, A. Farb, and F. D. Kolodgie, Pathology of the vulnerable plaque, J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 47 (2006) C13–C18.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2005.10.065

[11] K. Mayekar, D. Damalla, M. Gottwald, H. Bousack, and G. von der Emde, Characterization of a Bionic Electrolocation Sensor using Finite Element Modeling, IEEE Sens. J. (2011) 978–981.

DOI: 10.1109/icsens.2011.6127208