2013 International Conference on Smart Structures & Systems (JCSSS-2013), March 28 - 29, 2013, Chennai, INDIA

Design Of Mems Gyroscope to Detect

and Monitor Parkinson's Disease - A
Study
Adhavi Shri.A.S S.Praveen Kumar T.Aravind
Electronics and Electronics and Electronics and
Communication Engineering Communication Engineering Communication Engineering
Saveetha Engineering College Saveetha Engineering College Saveetha Engineering College
Chennai. India Chennai. India Chennai, India.
adhavishri. a.s@gmail.com praveenkumarsunil@gmail.com aravindthangavelmeialgmail.com

Abstract - The main objective is to design a There are various reasons for using
MEMS based gyroscope. A device which is MEMS they are as follows: the cost is very low
capable of maintaining and measuring the due to batch processing using techniques which
orientation is termed to be a gyroscope, which
are developed by the microelectronics industry,
works based on the principle of angular
MEMS devices don't occupy much space and
momentum. MEMS Gyroscopes are gaining
popularity because they are highly accurate, less
has got lighter weight and smaller size, MEMS
expensive and can be manufactured in large devices have got benefits for its portable
quantities. Gyroscopes can be used for detecting applications or applications with space
and monitoring Parkinson's disease. In case of limitations, MEMS hold better prospective for
Parkinson's disease movement asymmetry is one the environment: MEMS already upturns fuel
of the motor symptoms. Parkinson's disease is the efficacy in modern houses and cars so that it
disorder of the central nervous system at wisely controls the consumption of energy,
substancia nigra due to absence of dopamine.
MEMS comprises of microelectronics
Dopamine is a simple organic chemical which
technology, where electro-mechanical elements
plays a number of important physiological roles.
Once Parkinson's disease can be detected at early
can be assimilated with electronics onto a
stage by the use of MEMS gyroscopes, patients substrate, the former acts as the physical
are treated with dopaminergic drugs in order to constituents like arms and legs of the machine,
increase the amount of dopamine. the latter acts as the think tank like our human
brain. MEMS poses a threat to conventional
Keywords­ Gyroscopes, MEMS, Parkinson's concepts of engineering, which reduces the
disease.
importance of inertia and gravity and focuses
mainly on surface and atomic forces which
I. INTRODUCTION dominates the design. Scaling laws
demonstrates that the effects which are not
A. MEMS : significant in the macro scale can be a kingpin
MEMS can be abbreviated as Micro in the sub millimeter, micron or Nano scales.
Electro Mechanical System. In MEMS Nanotechnology deals with the
technology the system comprises of tiny submicron scale which is evolving in such a
devices or groups of devices. MEMS integrate way that if something is achievable at the
both mechanical and electrical components. micron scale, it has to be achieved in the Nano
MEMS are machines whose size ranges from
scale in the near future, extending the field to
micrometer (flm) to millimeter (mm). MEMS
Nano-Electro-Mechanical-Systems(NEMS).
may act as motors, sensors, switches
Thus further scaling down in the sizes of
generators, actuators, and include applications
in the fields viz., telecommunications, devices will include the advantages it enjoys in
astronomy, aerospace, and biotechnology. MEMS and also it allows the advantages which
lies in quantum effects to be exploited.
MEMS is also referred to as
Microelectronic Systems, is the technology of B. Gyroscope :
tiny devices; it also merges with the nano scale A gyroscope is a device used to
into Nano-Electro-Mechanical-Systems
measure or maintains orientation, based on the
systems (NEMS) and Nanotechnology. MEMS
principles of angular momentum. Gyroscopes
are also known as Micro-Machines in Japan, or
function differently depending on their type.
Micro Systems Technology (MST) in Europe.
Almost all existing micromachined gyroscopes

978-1-4673-6240-5/15 $31.00 ©2013 IEEE

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 2013 International Conference on Smart Structures & Systems (JCSSS-2013), March 28 - 29, 2013, Chennai, INDIA
operate on the basis of having a substrate above
which a proof of mass is suspended, the setup
is based on the vibratory principle. The proof
mass is capable of oscillating freely in two
orthogonal directions.
The basic classification of Gyroscopes:
a) Spinning mass Gyroscope: Conventional
spinning gyroscopes works based on a
spinning object whose spin will have a
precision whose axis is perpendicularly
tilted to the direction of the spin. Thus
maintained precision keeps the device to
be oriented in a vertical direction which
helps in the measurement of the angle
relative to the reference surface.
b) Optical Gyroscope: These are most
common type of ring laser gyroscopes.
These propagates two lasers which are
propagated in the opposite direction in a
circular path. As the speed of light
always remain constant, we can detect a
phase shift, this happens whenever the
path spins. The mirrors are usually fixed
at the comers of the triangle or
rectangular shaped rings. Because of the
smaller size and weight the optical
gyroscopes are of greater reliability with
reduced wear and hence it is
advantageous than spinning mass
gyroscopes.
c) Vibrating Gyroscope: The physical
principle states that a vibrating object
tends to continue vibrating in the same
plane as it rotates. Secondary vibrations
are caused due to the effect of coriollis
effect when a vibrating element is
subjected to coriolis effect. Here the
vibrationwill be orthogonal to the
original vibration's direction. By sensing
the secondary vibration, the rate of turn
can be detected.
II. SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
A. MEMS Gyroscope:
In recent years MEMS accelerometer
and gyroscope have gained much popularity. A
MEMS Gyroscope is a sensor which is used to
measure the rate of change of angular position
of any moving object. Gyroscopes are expected
to become the next "killer" application for the
MEMS industry in the coming years.
Current MEMS Gyroscopes has
various benefits viz., less weight, size is small
and less amount of power is consumed. Hence
MEMS Gyroscopes acts as the best low-cost
solution compared to conventional mechanical
Gyroscopes. MEMS vibratory Gyroscopes are
applied in the fields ranging from consumer
electronics to aerospace engineering. Remote
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controllers in virtual gaming devices, image
stabilization in digital cameras and camcorders,
and detection of motion in future generation
tablets and mobile phones are some of the
applications of MEMS Gyroscopes
implemented in consumer market. Bio-medical,
automotive, aerospace engineering robotics and
defence are some of the other applications of
MEMS Gyroscope.
Even in harsh environments MEMS
Gyroscopes with high reliability are highly
demandable by the consumers. Environments
that are highly humid, that possess high
temperature, that experiences high mechanical
vibration, high mechanical shock/drop, high
frequency acoustic noise, possessing more
radiation, the condition where the magnetic
and electric fields are high are some of the
harsh environments where MEMS Gyroscopes
can be implemented.
Characterization of the device is a
vital part of the development phase of the
product. Device characterization process
consumes more time and costs high. The
operating temperature range of MEMS
Gyroscopes is limited to -40°C to +85°C.
MEMS Gyroscope sensor observes
temperatures that exceeds the recommended
temperature range in applications viz., deep
water energy exploration, navigation and
tracking, high temperature industrial
applications and down-hole drilling.
Quantifying the Gyroscope behavior is
significant at those temperature conditions.
Rather than practical implementations a
simulation approach if preferable since the
practical approach consumes more time, very
expensive and tedious at every temperature
condition.
B. Components of MEMS Gyroscope:
In this article MEMS gyroscope is
designed which can be used for detecting and
monitoring Parkinson's disease. Here the
design part of MEMS gyroscope is
concentrated.
There are various parts in gyroscope
namely tuning/balance electrodes, proof
masses, linear comb drive structure, sense
electrodes and perforated beam.
The Beam element is a fundamental
MEMS element. Beam behavior is a
combination of physical effects arising from
different domains. Mechanical domain includes
linear axial compression and tension, linear
bending, geometric nonlinear bending, torsion
and shear effects. Inertial effects-application of
external body forces such as linear and radial
accelerations and Coriolis forces. Processing
effects includes residual planar stress, strain
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 2013 International Conference on Smart Structures & Systems (JCSSS-2013), March 28 - 29, 2013, Chennai, INDIA

gradient, sidewall angles due to etching.

Electrical phenomenon includes resistivity.
Thermal effects beam expansion (due to
temperature coefficient of expansion) and The forces acting on the mechanical system are
electrothermal heating. the spring forces F" damping force Fd, and the
The Comb Drive element is used for actuation force Fe1,
electrostatic actuation. It is designed with
interlacing comb fingers to create large
capacitor area. The comb drive has a moving -kx (3)
finger part (left side of the comb drive) and
fixed finger part (right side of the comb drive). -c ( ax/at) (4)
The comb drive modeled the electrostatic force,
lateral damping force and inertial force within Equation (2) becomes,
the template. All forces are projected to the
center of the moving part. The external
connecting node is set at the center node.
The Rigid Plate element is treated as a
Where,
rigid body with infmite stiffness in all
directions. It serves as a mechanism to transfer m = mass of the body
forces and moments between different levers,
Fe1 = Actuation force on the drive direction
beams or springs without any deformation of
the plate. c = Damping co efficient
k = Spring constant.
III. OPERATING PRINCIPLES OF
VIBRATING GYROS Most of the MEMS Gyroscopes sense
angular velocity by using vibrating mechanical
elements. A MEMS vibratory Gyroscope can
In order to sense the rotation of
be simply visualized as a two degree-of­
moving object, vibrating mechanical elements
freedom spring-mass-damper system as shown
(proof-mass) are used by almost all
in Figure 3. It consists of a vibrating mass
micromachined Gyroscopes. These Gyroscopes
(proof mass) at the core. The proof mass is
doesn't have rotating parts which need
suspended above the substrate by use of
bearings. Thus by the use of various
flexible beams, which also work as mechanical
micromachining techniques Gyroscopes can be
springs.
easily scaled down and batch fabricated.
Generally vibratory Gyroscopes depend upon
At resonance frequency, due to
the transmission of energy between two
electrostatic force the proof mass is subjected
vibration modes of a structure initiated by
to vibration which in turn causes movement in
Coriolis acceleration.
the drive direction. A Coriolis force is induced
Gyroscope is based on Newton's law
in the direction which is orthogonal to both the
of motion; the first law states that, unless an
drive direction (x) and the angular rotational
external force is applied, every object in a state
axis (z) when the Gyroscope sensor
of uniform motion tends to remain in that state
experiences an angular rotation.
of motion and the second law states that the
direction of the force vector will be the same as
that the direction of the acceleration vector.
Hence a Gyroscope can be built by
influencing a body and suspending it about its
center of mass in a frictionless support that
allows for three degrees of angular freedom
while having three degrees of constraint (i.e.
for linear motion); such a device can therefore
provide information about the angular
orientation of its frame with respect to its
moving mass.

From Newton's second law of motion,

L F=ma (1) Fig. 1. Schematic illustration of a MEMS

vibrating gyroscope

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 2013 International Conference on Smart Structures & Systems (JCSSS-2013), March 28 - 29, 2013, Chennai, INDIA
An energy transfer between the drive
mode and the sense mode is caused due to the
induced Coriolis force. The proof mass
movement caused by the Coriolis force in the
sense direction (y) is proportional to the
angular rotation applied and can be measured
with differential capacitance techniques by use
of interdigitated comb electrodes.
MEMS Gyroscope has two proof
masses in some cases which are placed on
either side that are driven in opposite directions
causing the Coriolis force that is induced on the
two masses which appears to be in opposite
directions as shown in Figure 4. This special
arrangement aids to nullify the external inertial
inputs that are caused by undesirable ambient
vibration. Single-axis MEMS vibratory
Gyroscopes are combined and mounted on
three Cartesian directions (i.e., X, Y and Z)
with other electronics in inertial navigation is
one of the specific applications of Gyroscopes.
The performance of the tracking system
requiring robustness and accuracy should be
maintained within a desired specific range over
a specified time period.
�eal
�rr�t(i�n (),)
Fig. 2. Two proof mass spring system
Initially the spring-mass-damper
system is observed with respect to the
gyroscope frame.
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Inertial frame
Fig. 3. Schematic of a vibrating gyro within
inertial frame
IV. SYSTEM ANALYSIS
The structure of the Gyroscope is
fixed at the anchors, whi Ie the rest of the
structure, including the large proof
masses on either side, is free to move.
Since the gyroscope uses the Coriolis
Effect to detect rotation, the device must
be in constant motion to function as the
Coriolis force only acts on moving bodies
(for more about the Coriolis Effect, click
here). This motion is accomplished by
vibrating the structure at one of its natural
frequencies to achieve the motion shown
in Figure 4. This vibration is referred to as
the Drive Mode.
eijr'-'L>mS»:4)-=l&340.307526 i'1a<: 3.092
8oord<ty: TOI:aI il>Piacemenl: [m] Detormatioo: Di$pacemenl
1.5
1.5
0.5
Mi'1: 0
Fig. 4. Vibration in drive mode
When the structure begins to rotate, the
Coriolis force acting on the moving proof
masses changes the direction of the vibration
from horizontal to vertical as seen in Figure 5.
This vertical vibration corresponds to a higher
natural frequency of the structure than the
horizontal Drive Mode vibration and is referred
to as Sense Mode.
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 2013 International Conference on Smart Structures & Systems (JCSSS-2013), March 28 - 29, 2013, Chennai, INDIA

MEMS gyroscopes act as intelligent FUTURE WORK

machines, batch processing is possible at Movement asymmetry is one of the motor
lower price, MEMS gyroscopes are highly symptoms associated with Parkinson's disease
precise, easily portable due to tiny size and the (PD). Detecting and measuring movement
power consumption is low. symmetry is important for monitoring the
patient's condition. Gyroscopes were designed
etgfrevmsIO;5}=17934.552364 Max: 2.636 and used for this purpose. MEMS Gyroscopes
Boundary: 1001 di;placement [ml Deformation: DispJacemer.t

15
can be placed on the upper and lower limbs of
human body. Sensitivity and test-retest
reliability were computed for each method, on
both upper limb and lower limb data.

15
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Senior Member, IEEE, July 2012.
05
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