Flexible Patch Pump for Insulin Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional insulin pumps are cumbersome, expensive, and uncomfortable, especially for children, small women, and the elderly, limiting their wearability and convenience due to rigid construction and bulkiness, which hinders widespread adoption in diabetes management.
Innovation Solution
A wearable, self-contained drug infusion device with a flexible and conformal housing, featuring a sonically welded flexible reservoir and fluid metering mechanism, including thermal resistors and a flexible membrane for drug delivery, along with a needle deployment mechanism and biosensor integration, designed to be lightweight and adaptable to various body shapes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional insulin pumps use rigid housing construction, then structural strength and reliability are improved, but device weight, bulk, and user comfort deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies flexible housing construction with flexible printed circuit boards and flexible reservoirs that can conform to body contours. The housing is designed to be flexible rather than rigid, allowing the device to adapt to different body shapes and reducing overall bulk while maintaining structural integrity through flexible material properties rather than rigid construction.
2Strength
If conventional insulin pumps use rigid housing construction, then structural strength and reliability are improved, but device bulk and wearability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs flexible housing that can conform to body contours, flexible printed circuit boards that reduce the overall footprint of electronic components, and a flexible reservoir system that eliminates rigid container requirements. These flexible components enable the device to be thinner and more adaptable to body shapes while maintaining structural strength through the inherent properties of flexible materials.
3Weight of moving object
If patch pumps are made smaller and lighter, then user comfort and wearability are improved, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple functions into a single flexible device platform, combining the reservoir, pump mechanism, control electronics, and user interface into one integrated flexible system. The flexible printed circuit board serves multiple purposes: electrical interconnection, structural support, and signal routing. This merging of functions reduces the number of separate components needed and simplifies manufacturing while achieving a compact, lightweight design.
4Ease of operation
If patch pumps use flexible construction, then user comfort and conformability are improved, but manufacturing precision and assembly difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses flexible materials throughout the device construction, including flexible housing, flexible reservoirs, and flexible printed circuit boards. This flexible construction allows the device to conform to body contours and improve user comfort. The flexible nature of the materials actually facilitates manufacturing by allowing for more tolerant assembly processes and easier integration of components compared to rigid constructions that require precise alignment and assembly.
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
The device provides increased comfort, convenience, and discretion, allowing for more widespread use by reducing skin irritation and improving user experience, while maintaining effective insulin delivery and glucose monitoring.
Implementation Method 1
The fluid metering device comprises at least one thermal resistor provided locally to a thermal expansion fluid encapsulated by a flexible membrane, wherein heating of said thermal expansion fluid causes expansion of said flexible membrane resulting in displacement of the drug and actuation of said drug into said user through the infusion needle
Implementation Method 2
The upper and lower portions of the housing are constructed from a flexible polymer wherein the thickness of the integral housing is within a range of 0.25 to 1.25 inches and are sonically welded together along their respective perimeters
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a flexible and conformal wearable, self-contained medical device. The medical device comprises an integral housing formed by a flexible upper portion and a flexible lower portion joined along their perimeters. The medical device is also provided in a plurality of shapes and configurations for increasing the flexibility and conformability of the housing. The components contained within the housing, such as a drug reservoir, printed circuit board, and power supply are preferably constructed from flexible materials and are formed, connected and positioned according to the configuration of the housing in a manner for enhancing flexibility of the housing. A thermal bubble micropump is provided for controlling flow of a drug from the flexible reservoir, that utilizes a thermal resistor provided locally to a thermal expansion fluid that causes a surrounding membrane to expand and displace a volume of drug to be provided to the user.