High Oxygen Solubility Membrane for Implantable Glucose Sensors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional implantable glucose sensors face challenges in providing accurate, real-time blood glucose monitoring due to limitations in oxygen availability, especially under ischemic conditions, leading to inaccurate readings and delayed detection of hyperglycemic or hypoglycemic events in diabetic patients.
Innovation Solution
The development of an electrochemical sensor with a membrane system incorporating polymer materials with high oxygen solubility, such as silicone, fluorocarbon, and perfluorocarbon, which enhances oxygen availability to the enzyme domain and counter electrode, ensuring continuous and accurate glucose monitoring even during transient ischemia.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional membrane materials are used in implantable glucose sensors, then the device structure is simple and manufacturing is easier, but oxygen availability is insufficient leading to inaccurate readings under ischemic conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining multiple polymer layers with different oxygen solubility characteristics. The membrane system includes a first polymer layer with high oxygen solubility (e.g., fluorocarbon or perfluorocarbon) and a second polymer layer with lower oxygen solubility (e.g., silicone), creating a composite structure that optimizes oxygen transport while maintaining manufacturing feasibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by assigning different functional properties to different regions of the membrane system. The first polymer layer positioned adjacent to the enzyme domain has high oxygen solubility to ensure adequate oxygen supply to the glucose oxidase, while the second polymer layer provides selective permeability and structural support with appropriate lower oxygen solubility.
2Quantity of substance
If polymer materials with high oxygen solubility are used in the membrane system, then oxygen availability to the enzyme domain is enhanced, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by selecting polymer materials with inherently high oxygen solubility (such as fluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons) to compensate for potential variations in layer thickness during manufacturing. This allows the system to maintain adequate oxygen transport even with reasonable manufacturing tolerances.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-selecting polymer materials with well-characterized and high oxygen solubility properties before device assembly. This preliminary selection of materials with favorable oxygen transport characteristics reduces the stringency of precision requirements for subsequent manufacturing steps.
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 high oxygen solubility membrane system dynamically retains oxygen, enabling the sensor to function accurately and reliably during ischemic conditions, providing continuous and real-time glucose monitoring, thereby improving the management of diabetes.
Implementation Method 1
a membrane system including a polymer material with a high oxygen solubility
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for increasing oxygen availability to implantable devices. The preferred embodiments provide a membrane system configured to provide protection of the device from the biological environment and/or a catalyst for enabling an enzymatic reaction, wherein the membrane system includes a polymer formed from a high oxygen soluble material. The high oxygen soluble polymer material is disposed adjacent to an oxygen-utilizing source on the implantable device so as to dynamically retain high oxygen availability to the oxygen-utilizing source during oxygen deficits. Membrane systems of the preferred embodiments are useful for implantable devices with oxygen-utilizing sources and/or that function in low oxygen environments, such as enzyme-based electrochemical sensors and cell transplantation devices.