Flexible Textile Patch for Continuous Glucose Monitoring and Insulin Delivery
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current continuous glucose monitoring and insulin delivery systems are cumbersome, expensive, and uncomfortable due to rigid components, limited adherence options, and high maintenance requirements, with unsuccessful attempts to miniaturize and combine these systems while ensuring reliability, user comfort, and reducing infection risk.
Innovation Solution
A flexible textile patch integrated with analyte monitoring and fluid delivery components, including a power source, controller, transmitter, fluid pump, and sensors, woven into breathable and conductive fabric for comfortable wear, with disposable or reusable parts to reduce costs and maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If rigid, flat mounting surfaces are used for skin-mounted transmitters, then structural stability is improved, but comfort and adherence to skin are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The transmitter unit employs a flexible housing that can conform to the contours of the user's body, replacing rigid structures with flexible materials. This allows the device to adapt to curved surfaces like the torso while maintaining structural integrity and providing comfortable, secure adherence during movement and wear.
2Device complexity
If currently available insulin pumps are miniaturized and combined with monitoring systems, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability and infection risk control are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into distinct modular components: a reusable transmitter unit containing electronics and a disposable sensor component that interfaces with the skin. This segmentation allows the complex parts to be protected and maintained separately from the sterile interface, reducing infection risk while maintaining reliability through controlled replacement of disposable elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor component is designed as a disposable element that is replaced periodically, eliminating the need for complex sterilization and maintenance procedures. This approach ensures reliability by always using fresh, sterile components at the skin interface while keeping the overall system manageable in size.
3Ease of manufacture
If large footprint transmitter units are used, then component integration is simplified, but comfort and wearability are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple functional components including power source, electronics, transmitter, and sensor are integrated into a single compact housing unit. This consolidation reduces the overall footprint and eliminates the need for separate wiring and mounting components, making the device small enough to wear comfortably on the body while maintaining full functionality.
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 flexible patch system provides continuous glucose monitoring and insulin delivery in a compact, comfortable, and cost-effective manner, with reduced maintenance and infection risk, while allowing for easy replacement and integration of advanced components like shape-memory alloy actuators and inherently conductive polymers.
Implementation Method 1
The pump may include shape-memory alloy actuators
Implementation Method 2
The fabric may be inherently conductive or include conductive pathways
Data Source
AI summary
A wearable, conductive textile patch is provided that may include any of a number of features for monitoring body analytes and/or delivering fluids to a body. In one embodiment of the invention, a single, patch-mounted system monitors glucose levels of a diabetic person and provides appropriate doses of insulin in response to the glucose measurements. A hand-held user interface can be provided for wirelessly controlling the system and/or receiving information from it. Conductive pathways can be formed in the fabric of the patch. Components that can be integrated into the flexible patch include a power source, controller, transmitter, antenna, temperature and other sensors, fluid pump, infusion set, electrical pathways, switches, controls, electrodes, connectors, resistors and other circuit elements. Such components can be embedded, interwoven or coated on to the flexible patch instead of or in addition to surface mounting. Methods associated with use of the flexible patch system are also covered.