This bachelor's assignment concerns the development of 3D-printed pessary rings to sense mechanical deformations. Instead of using the more complicated torus shape, it is simplified to a cylinder. Different models are examined to deduce the locations of highest stress during compression of the cross-section, a deformation that is known to be present in a successfully implemented pessary.
A decision is made between a piezoresistive readout and a capacitive one. The piezoresistive configuration was chosen due to the simpler implementation. Two designs are fabricated and tested, one with multiple conductive PI-ETPU wires running along the length of the cylinder, and one with two conductive PI-ETPU plates going from the centre to the outside of the cylinder made from X60 TPU. The results indicate that the sensors can indeed respond to the compression.
A peculiar shape was observed in the responses that were also observed in previous research. Possible causes are speculated and recommendations are made for further research.