Flexible Substrate Sensor Probe for Continuous Glucose Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical devices for monitoring physiological properties like blood glucose concentration often require periodic measurements and lack continuous, real-time monitoring capabilities, especially for slow-changing properties or infrequent events, and may not be comfortably wearable or implantable for long periods.
Innovation Solution
A body-mountable device with a flexible substrate, sensor probe, and electronic components that can penetrate the skin to detect analytes in interstitial fluid, providing continuous data collection and wireless communication of results, minimizing user discomfort and interference with daily activities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a rigid sensor probe is used to penetrate skin for continuous monitoring, then measurement precision is improved, but user comfort and ease of operation deteriorate due to interference with daily activities
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor probe is constructed with a flexible substrate that can bend and conform to skin movement, eliminating the rigidity that causes discomfort. This flexible structure maintains continuous contact with the skin surface while allowing natural body movements, thereby preserving measurement precision without compromising user comfort during daily activities.
Solution Approach 2:
The probe design incorporates dynamic flexibility rather than static rigidity, allowing the sensor to adapt its shape and position as the skin moves. This dynamic characteristic enables the probe to maintain optimal sensing contact while moving with the body, resolving the contradiction between continuous monitoring capability and user comfort.
2Ease of operation
If the device is made flexible for comfort, then ease of operation is improved, but measurement precision may deteriorate due to probe deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible substrate is engineered to provide mechanical compliance for comfort while incorporating structural features that maintain sensor alignment and contact pressure. The flexible design includes reinforcement elements and controlled geometry that prevent excessive deformation, ensuring measurement precision is preserved even as the probe conforms to skin movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The probe employs composite material construction combining flexible polymers with rigid sensor mounting structures. This composite approach allows the outer structure to be flexible and comfortable for wearability, while the embedded sensor components remain stable and precisely positioned to maintain measurement accuracy.
3Device complexity
If periodic measurements are used, then device complexity is reduced, but loss of information increases due to inability to detect infrequent events
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system operates continuously rather than periodically, maintaining constant monitoring of physiological parameters. This continuous operation eliminates gaps in data collection, ensuring that infrequent or transient events are captured without requiring complex event-triggered sampling mechanisms, thus preserving information while managing complexity through straightforward continuous measurement.
4Measurement precision
If the sensor probe penetrates deep into skin, then measurement precision is improved, but object-affected harmful factors increase due to tissue damage and infection risk
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible probe design enables effective measurement at reduced penetration depths compared to rigid probes. The flexibility allows the sensor to maintain close contact with the skin surface and detect analytes in interstitial fluid without requiring deep tissue penetration, thereby improving measurement precision while minimizing skin trauma and infection risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses interstitial fluid as an intermediary medium to obtain analyte information without direct blood sampling or deep tissue contact. The flexible probe collects analytes from the interstitial fluid layer adjacent to the skin surface, providing accurate physiological data while avoiding the harmful effects of deep needle penetration and tissue damage.
Data Source
AI summary
A flexible, body-mountable analyte sensing device includes a flexible substrate configured for mounting to skin of a living body. The sensing device additionally includes a sensor probe attached to the flexible substrate and configured to penetrate the skin such that a sensor disposed on the sensor probe can detect an analyte in interstitial fluid. The sensor probe can include an elongate extension of the flexible substrate. The sensor can be, for example, an electrochemical sensor or an optical sensor. The sensing device is configured to wirelessly indicate detected concentrations or other information about the analyte in the interstitial fluid. The flexible substrate of the sensing device is configured to be adhered or otherwise mounted to the skin in a manner that minimally impacts activities of the living body.