On the characterization of 3D-printed diaphragmatic hernia sensor for health monitoring of bovine: FEA, morphological, and in vitro analysis

The problem of diaphragmatic hernia (DH) and surgical procedures for its treatment in bovine have been widely reported by researchers. However, limited studies have been reported on the health monitoring of bovines post-DH surgery, especially to ascertain their reoccurrence for early diagnosis. This study highlights the fabrication and characterization of a DH sensor prepared by 3D printing (using 17-4 precipitation hardened (PH) stainless steel (SS) as conductor and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) composite as dielectric) for health monitoring of bovine to ascertain its reoccurrence for supporting the early diagnosis. The study highlights the plastic strain deformation of the designed model for 3D printing (observed as 0 at 0.01645 MPa), followed by fatigue testing (observed as safe for 10⁸ cycles of loading) through finite element analysis (FEA) for the assembly of 17-4 PH SS and PVDF composite. The morphological and in vitro assessments were also carried out on 3D-printed functional prototypes. The results suggest that the 3D-printed DH sensor has acceptable mechanical properties (with a factor of safety of 12) and, hence, may be used as a commercial solution to ascertain the reoccurrence of DH in bovine.