Edible pH Sensor Using Biodegradable Materials
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for measuring gastric pH are invasive, expensive, and not suitable for repeated administration due to the use of non-biodegradable, foreign materials that pose safety concerns and risk of bowel obstruction.
Innovation Solution
Development of a miniaturized, edible, and digestible pH sensor made from food-based materials, including gold and metal oxides, that can survive in the acidic gastric environment and wirelessly transmit pH data using a smartphone for reading.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If non-biodegradable materials (e.g., Cu, MEMS) are used in swallowable electronic devices, then device robustness and functionality are improved, but safety concerns and risk of bowel obstruction increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the disposable principle by designing a swallowable pH sensor that is intentionally made biodegradable and short-lived. The device is meant to be used once and then naturally decompose in the body, eliminating the need for retrieval and avoiding long-term safety risks. This resolves the contradiction by accepting limited device lifespan in exchange for improved safety and elimination of bowel obstruction risks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material parameters from non-biodegradable metals (Cu, MEMS) to biodegradable organic materials. This parameter change transforms the device from permanent to transient, allowing it to maintain structural integrity during use while safely decomposing afterward, thus resolving the safety robustness contradiction.
2Measurement precision
If non-biodegradable swallowable devices are used for pH measurement, then measurement capability is achieved, but repeated administration is not suitable due to retention risk
Solution Approach 1:
The biodegradable nature of the device enables repeated administration by ensuring each device automatically decomposes after use. This eliminates retention risks and allows patients to undergo multiple pH monitoring sessions without cumulative safety concerns, directly resolving the adaptability contradiction.
3Extent of automation
If MEMS-based processes with foreign materials are used, then device functionality is achieved, but cost and safety concerns increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adopts inexpensive organic materials and simple fabrication methods suitable for disposable devices. This approach reduces manufacturing complexity and cost while maintaining adequate functionality for single-use pH monitoring, resolving the contradiction between automation capability and ease of manufacture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex MEMS mechanical systems with simpler organic electronic components that can be fabricated using less complex processes. This substitution maintains wireless transmission functionality while reducing manufacturing complexity and cost.
4Measurement precision
If invasive methods (naso-gastric tube, endoscopy) are used for pH measurement, then measurement accuracy is achieved, but patient comfort and invasiveness worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces invasive mechanical measurement systems (tubes, endoscopes) with a swallowable capsule that uses wireless electromagnetic communication. This substitution eliminates physical invasiveness and patient discomfort while maintaining pH measurement accuracy through wireless data transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
The swallowable capsule acts as an intermediary device that performs measurements internally without requiring external invasive access. It wirelessly transmits data through the body wall, serving as a mediator between the internal gastric environment and external monitoring equipment, thus resolving the invasiveness contradiction.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables safe, cost-effective, and repeated monitoring of gastric pH, reducing safety concerns and the risk of bowel obstruction, while providing real-time measurements and allowing for intermittent monitoring of acid secretory disorders.
Implementation Method 1
an antenna comprising Au for wirelessly transmitting signals
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are presented for a swallowable pH sensor made entirely of edible and digestible materials. A substrate is provided and an electrical circuit pattern is printed on a top surface of the substrate. The electrical circuit pattern includes a plurality of interdigitated electrodes and an antenna portion. The substrate is rolled into a cylindrical form such that the interdigitated electrodes are positioned on an outermost layer of the rolled substrate. The rolling of the substrate also causes the antenna portion of the electrical circuit pattern to form into a coil shape.