Multi-sensor glucose index via physiological signals
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for monitoring blood glucose levels in diabetes management are invasive, inconvenient, and often inaccurate, particularly in ambulatory settings, leading to delayed detection of abnormal glucose levels and increased healthcare costs.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing multiple wearable or implanted sensors to detect physiologic information correlated with blood glucose levels, such as cardiac electrical and mechanical information, bioimpedance, and autonomic responses, to determine a glucose index, which can trigger further glucose testing or therapy initiation without direct glucose measurement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If direct glucose level measurement is used, then measurement precision is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to invasive procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses physiological parameters (heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, activity level) as intermediary indicators that correlate with glucose levels. These parameters are measured non-invasively by sensors already present in ambulatory medical devices, serving as mediators between the patient's physiological state and glucose level estimation without requiring direct blood sampling or invasive glucose sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/invasive blood sampling method with a computational approach using electrical and physiological sensors. Instead of physically extracting blood for glucose measurement, the system uses electrical signals (ECG, blood pressure waveforms) and physiological data processed through algorithms to estimate glucose levels non-invasively.
2Reliability
If frequent direct glucose monitoring is performed, then reliability of glucose management is improved, but loss of time increases due to patient burden
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables continuous monitoring of physiological parameters (heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, activity) that correlate with glucose levels. By continuously collecting and analyzing these parameters, the system provides ongoing glucose level estimation without requiring intermittent patient actions, thus maintaining reliable glucose management information continuously available while eliminating repeated testing time burdens.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically performs glucose level estimation by processing physiological data from sensors without requiring patient participation in testing procedures. The ambulatory medical device autonomously collects physiological parameters, processes them through algorithms, and generates glucose level estimates, freeing the patient from active involvement in frequent glucose monitoring.
3Measurement precision
If multiple sensors are integrated for glucose index determination, then measurement precision of glucose index is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent leverages the multi-functionality of existing ambulatory medical devices that already contain sensors for other physiological monitoring purposes. The same device that monitors heart rate, blood pressure, or other cardiac parameters is utilized to also determine glucose index by processing these existing physiological data streams through additional algorithms, eliminating the need for separate dedicated glucose sensing hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple physiological parameter measurements (heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, activity level) within a single integrated processing system. By merging these different sensor inputs and processing them through a unified algorithmic framework, the system determines glucose index using data from existing sensors without requiring separate dedicated glucose monitoring hardware, thus reducing overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, devices, and methods for monitoring and assessing blood glucose level in a patient are discussed. An exemplary system receives physiologic information from a patient using an ambulatory medical device. The physiologic information is correlated to, and different from, a direct glucose level measurement. The system determines a glucose index indicative of an abnormal blood glucose level using the received physiologic information by the two or more physiologic sensors. The system may use the glucose index to initiate or adjust a therapy, or to trigger a glucose sensor, separate from the two or more physiologic sensors, to directly measure blood glucose concentration.