Transcutaneous Glucose Sensor Calibration Without Finger-Prick Reference
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Solution Overview
Problem
Individuals with diabetes often fail to monitor their glucose levels frequently due to convenience, testing discretion, pain, and cost, despite the importance of frequent monitoring for glycemic control.
Innovation Solution
Development of in vivo analyte monitoring devices with transcutaneously positioned sensors coupled to on-body electronics for continuous or periodic glucose level monitoring, featuring automatic or semi-automatic data communication, self-powered operation, and calibration without external reference, allowing discreet and convenient glucose level tracking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual glucose monitoring is performed, then glucose levels can be detected, but the process is painful and inconvenient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical finger-prick sampling system with a transcutaneous sensor system that measures glucose through the skin using electrochemical or optical methods, eliminating the need for painful mechanical punctures while maintaining continuous glucose monitoring capability
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring device is designed to automatically perform glucose measurements without requiring user intervention for sampling or manual operation, with the system self-calibrating and automatically communicating glucose data, thereby eliminating the inconvenience of manual monitoring procedures
2Reliability
If frequent glucose monitoring is performed, then glycemic control improves, but the cost and inconvenience increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous glucose monitoring through a transcutaneous sensor that remains in place and automatically measures glucose levels at multiple time points without removing or repositioning the sensor, enabling frequent monitoring while maintaining convenience and reducing overall cost
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically communicates glucose data to external devices or users, providing real-time feedback that encourages frequent monitoring while the automated nature of the system eliminates the inconvenience of manual repeated testing
3Ease of operation
If transcutaneous sensors are used for continuous monitoring, then convenience and discretion are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the monitoring system into separate functional modules: a transcutaneous sensor component for glucose detection, a separate electronics unit for data processing, and a communication interface for data transfer, allowing each component to be optimized independently while reducing overall system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary electronics unit that bridges the simple transcutaneous sensor and the external display/communication systems, consolidating complexity into a single manageable component while keeping the sensor itself simple and the user interface straightforward
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and devices to monitor an analyte in body fluid are provided. Embodiments include continuous or discrete acquisition of analyte related data from a transcutaneously positioned in vivo analyte sensor automatically or upon request from a user. The in vivo analyte sensor is coupled to an electronics unit holding a memory with instruction to cause processing circuitry to initiate a predetermined time period that is longer than a predetermined life of the sensor, during the predetermined time period, convert signals from the sensor related to glucose to respective corresponding glucose levels, without relying on any post-manufacture independent analyte measurements from a reference device, and at the expiration of the predetermined time period, disable, deactivate, or cease use of one or more feature.