Angled Mounting Structure for Reagent Deposition on Contact Lens Sensors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing eye-mountable devices face challenges in efficiently depositing reagent layers on sensors due to gravity-induced liquid flow on convex surfaces during fabrication and testing, which can lead to inaccurate analyte concentration measurements.
Innovation Solution
A mounting structure with a convex surface and a support structure that aligns the device at a given angle, ensuring a target area on the convex surface is parallel to a flat base surface, preventing liquid from flowing away and allowing for precise deposition of reagent layers, such as glucose oxidase, onto sensors embedded in eye-mountable devices like contact lenses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a device with a convex surface is used for eye-mountable applications, then the device can be mounted on the eye surface, but gravity causes liquid to flow away from the target area during reagent deposition
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a third dimension by tilting the device at a specific angle (e.g., 10-45 degrees) relative to the horizontal plane during reagent deposition. This angular orientation creates a component of gravitational force that acts parallel to the convex surface, directing liquid flow toward the target area rather than allowing it to flow away horizontally. The support structure with angled mounting surfaces or adjustable holders enables this dimensional change in orientation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the orientation parameter of the device by changing its angular position during the reagent deposition process. Instead of maintaining a horizontal or vertical orientation, the device is positioned at a specific tilt angle that optimizes liquid flow characteristics on the convex surface. This parameter change allows gravity to work in favor of liquid delivery to the target area rather than against it.
2Productivity
If reagent layers are deposited on a convex surface during fabrication, then sensors can be activated, but liquid flow due to gravity leads to inaccurate analyte concentration measurements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-positioning the device at the optimal tilt angle before reagent deposition begins. The support structure is configured in advance to hold the device at the correct orientation, ensuring that when the reagent is applied, gravity immediately directs liquid flow toward the target area. This preliminary setup prevents measurement errors before they occur during the actual deposition and subsequent analyte measurement processes.
3Manufacturing precision
If the device is held at an angled orientation during liquid deposition, then reagent layers can be accurately deposited on sensors, but the mounting structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the mounting system into separate functional components: a support structure for holding the device, angled mounting surfaces or adjustable holders for positioning, and the device itself. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the support structure provides stability, the mounting surfaces provide the necessary angle, and the device maintains its convex shape. This modular approach reduces overall complexity compared to integrating all functions into a single complex structure.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus may include a mounting structure configured to removably mount a concave surface of a device. The mounting structure may have a convex mounting surface that corresponds to the concave surface of the device. The device may have a convex surface opposite the concave surface. The apparatus may also include a base structure that has a flat surface. The apparatus may also include a support structure coupled to the base structure and the mounting structure. The support structure may be configured to align the mounting structure at a given angle such that a target area on the convex surface of the device is substantially parallel to the flat surface of the base structure when the device is mounted on the mounting structure.