Wireless Tags for Wearable Insulin Pumps

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Solution Overview

Problem

Patients with diabetes face challenges in estimating carbohydrate content in meals, particularly for young children and the elderly, and in situations where meals are low in carbohydrates but high in protein/fat, leading to incorrect bolusing and increased patient burden, especially when consuming restaurant meals.

Innovation Solution

A system of wireless communication tags for wearable medical devices that communicate physiology-affecting information, such as meal data, to a user device, allowing for adjustment of the drug delivery device's mode of operation, including adjusting target blood glucose levels, drug delivery schedules, and frequency of blood glucose sensing, to accurately manage insulin delivery based on real-time nutritional intake.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If manual estimation of carbohydrate content is used, then patient burden increases and dosing accuracy decreases, but device complexity and cost remain lower

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecarbohydrate content estimation accuracyVSAvoidpatient burden

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables self-service by using wireless communication tags attached to food items that automatically transmit nutritional information to the wearable device. The device then autonomously calculates bolus dosing without requiring manual patient input, eliminating the burden of manual estimation while maintaining high accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

Wireless communication tags serve as intermediaries between the food items and the wearable medical device. These tags carry nutritional information and relay it to the device, which then processes the data to determine appropriate insulin dosing, removing the need for direct patient involvement in data collection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If wireless communication tags are integrated to provide real-time meal data, then dosing accuracy and patient management improve, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinsulin dosing accuracyVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system divides functionality into separate components: wireless communication tags attached to food items, a wearable medical device for processing, and a user device for monitoring. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and simplifies manufacturing while maintaining system reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The wearable medical device serves multiple functions: receiving data from wireless tags, processing nutritional information, calculating insulin dosing, and communicating with user devices. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate specialized devices, thereby managing complexity while improving reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Adaptability or versatility

If the system adapts to diverse meal scenarios including low-carb high-protein meals, then versatility and dosing accuracy improve, but measurement and detection difficulty increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemeal scenario coverageVSAvoidnutritional composition analysis

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

Nutritional information is pre-loaded into wireless communication tags during manufacturing. This preliminary action eliminates the need for real-time analysis of complex nutritional compositions, allowing the system to accurately handle diverse meal scenarios including low-carb high-protein meals without increasing measurement difficulty.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

4Loss of time

If real-time physiology affecting information is communicated to adjust drug delivery, then dosing timeliness and effectiveness improve, but energy consumption and device complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedosing response timeVSAvoiddevice energy consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of timeVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses periodic wireless communication between tags and the wearable device, rather than continuous monitoring. The wearable device polls for meal data at appropriate intervals, enabling timely dosing adjustments while minimizing energy consumption by keeping the system in low-power states between communications.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

Data Source

PatentUS20240312587A1Wireless communication tags to enhance aid system performance

Publication Date: 2024.09.19 INSULET CORP

AI summary

A system for utilizing wireless communication tags with wearable medical devices is presented. The system includes a user device. The system includes at least a wireless communication tag. The at least a wireless communication tag is configured to communicate physiology affecting information to the user device. The user device is configured to modify a mode of operation of a wearable medical device, such as a wearable injection device, as a function of the physiology affecting information.