Switchable Permeability Membrane for Non-Invasive Glucose Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for monitoring blood glucose in premature infants are invasive, painful, and risk infections, limiting frequent measurements due to the small blood volume and high risk of complications.
Innovation Solution
A non-invasive device using a membrane with switchable permeability states, allowing passive diffusion of analytes through the skin, with a self-calibrating mechanism that measures glucose concentrations by switching the membrane between high and low permeability states using electromagnetic radiation, electric fields, pH changes, temperature, or pressure, and analyzing the diffused analytes in a perfusion medium.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If invasive blood sampling is used to measure blood glucose, then measurement accuracy is improved, but patient harm increases due to pain, infection risk, and anemia
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary substance (glucose oxidase enzyme) that mediates between the analyte (glucose) and the detection system. The enzyme is immobilized on a membrane surface, creating a biocatalytic layer that converts glucose into detectable products (hydrogen peroxide) without direct contact between the sampling needle and blood, thereby enabling indirect measurement with reduced harm
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical invasive sampling system with an electrochemical detection system. Instead of physically extracting blood samples through needles, the system uses an enzymatic-biosensor platform where glucose diffuses through a membrane and is detected electrochemically, substituting mechanical intrusion with a field-based detection method
2Productivity
If invasive blood sampling is performed frequently to monitor rapid blood glucose changes, then measurement frequency is improved, but patient harm increases due to repeated pain and infection risk
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables continuous monitoring by maintaining a sustained enzymatic reaction at the membrane surface. The immobilized glucose oxidase continuously converts diffusing glucose into detectable signals, allowing uninterrupted measurement over extended periods without repeated invasive procedures, thus achieving continuous action rather than discrete sampling events
Solution Approach 2:
The biosensor system is self-sustaining through continuous passive diffusion of glucose from the interstitial fluid through the membrane to the enzyme layer. The system automatically replenishes its analyte supply without requiring external intervention or repeated blood draws, enabling long-term continuous monitoring with minimal user involvement
3Object-affected harmful factors
If ex-vivo body fluid sampling is used for non-invasive analysis, then patient harm is reduced, but measurement accuracy deteriorates due to unknown diffusion relationships and varying skin properties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the measurement parameter from direct blood glucose concentration to enzymatic reaction product concentration (hydrogen peroxide). By measuring the product of a controlled enzymatic reaction rather than the original analyte directly, the system creates a standardized transduction mechanism that compensates for variations in skin diffusion properties, converting an unreliable physical parameter into a reliable chemical signal
4Device complexity
If a single permeability membrane is used for analyte diffusion, then device simplicity is improved, but measurement reliability deteriorates due to unknown skin resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces the enzymatic reaction as an intermediary step between analyte diffusion and measurement. The glucose oxidase enzyme acts as a mediator that converts variable diffusion flux into a standardized chemical signal, decoupling the measurement reliability from the diffusion variability. This intermediary transformation enables accurate measurement despite unknown skin resistance
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
Enables continuous, accurate, and non-invasive monitoring of blood glucose levels without the need for blood sampling, reducing pain and infection risks, and allowing for frequent measurements.
Implementation Method 1
the analyte, which e.g. passively diffused through the skin of said animal or human, is able to diffuse through said membrane
Implementation Method 2
the switching means is designed to irradiate the membrane with electromagnetic radiation, particularly light, for switching the membrane from one of the states to the other state
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a device for measuring the concentration of an analyte in the blood or tissue of a an animal or a human, particularly a premature infant, wherein for measuring said concentration the device comprises a means (30) comprising at least a first and a second permeability with respect to said analyte, wherein the first permeability for said analyte differs from the second permeability for the analyte. Further, the invention relates to a corresponding method.