Implantable sensor
Inventors
Delbeke, Danaë • Baets, Roel • Bogaerts, Wim • RYCKEBOER, Eva Maria Paula
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-9532738-B2
Publication Date
2017-01-03
Expiration Date
Abstract
A sensor is described for sensing a substance such as for example glucose. The sensor is implantable in the body of a living creature. The sensor comprises a photonic integrated circuit, e.g. silicon-photonics, based radiation processor for spectrally processing radiation interacting with the sample. A continuous monitoring system also is described using such a sensor.
Core Innovation
An implantable sensor is configured to sense glucose, urea, or lactate in tissue or bodily fluids using an integrated radiation source that couples radiation into a silicon photonics integrated circuit. The silicon photonics integrated circuit spectrally processes radiation interacting with the analyte and comprises an integrated optical waveguide, an optical demultiplexer or an optical multiplexer, and an integrated detection element.
The integrated optical waveguide receives radiation from the integrated radiation source and sends the radiation to the optical demultiplexer or to the tissue or bodily fluid, depending on the architecture. A part of the waveguide is configured for evanescent sensing within a measurement region, and sensing is performed by an evanescent tail of the radiation.
The integrated detection element detects different absorption or reflection bands, or different absorption bands, of glucose, urea, or lactate from spectrally resolved or spectrally processed radiation to sense the analyte. The silicon photonics integrated circuit and the measurement region are configured for sampling free spectral measurements without extracting a sample or guiding a substance of interest in a forced manner to the measurement region. The radiation source and the silicon photonics integrated circuit form an integrated spectrometer, and the sensor is configured to be implantable in the body of a living creature or an object.
Claims Coverage
The excerpt contains two independent claims. Each centers on an implantable evanescent-sensing silicon-photonics integrated spectrometer configured for free-spectral sampling without forced extraction or forced guiding of the substance of interest, with spectral processing expressed via a demultiplexer in one claim and via a multiplexer in the other.
Implantable silicon photonics evanescent sensing spectrometer for glucose, urea, or lactate
A sensor configured to sense glucose, urea, or lactate, implantable in the body of a living creature or an object and configured for sensing in tissue or bodily fluids, including an integrated radiation source coupled into a silicon photonics integrated circuit, an integrated optical waveguide configured for evanescent sensing within a measurement region, and an integrated spectrometer formed by the radiation source and the silicon photonics integrated circuit.
Spectral processing with demultiplexer and detection of absorption or reflection bands
A silicon photonics integrated circuit configured to spectrally process radiation interacting with the glucose, urea, or lactate, wherein the silicon photonics integrated circuit comprises at least an integrated optical waveguide, an optical demultiplexer, and an integrated detection element; the optical demultiplexer obtains spectrally resolved radiation and the integrated detection element detects different absorption or reflection bands of the glucose or urea or lactate from the spectrally resolved radiation.
Free spectral sampling without extraction or forced guiding
The silicon photonics integrated circuit and the measurement region are configured for sampling free spectral measurements so that sensing can be performed without the need for extracting a sample or guiding the substance of interest in a forced manner to the measurement region.
Spectral processing with multiplexer and detection of absorption bands
A sensor architecture where the silicon photonics integrated circuit comprises at least an integrated optical waveguide, an optical multiplexer, and a detection element; the optical multiplexer combines radiation into a single path in the integrated optical waveguide, the waveguide sends radiation to the tissue or bodily fluid, the waveguide includes a part configured for evanescent sensing in the measurement region, and the integrated detection element detects different absorption bands of the glucose or urea or lactate from the spectrally processed radiation.
The claims collectively cover an implantable sensor using an integrated radiation source and a silicon photonics integrated circuit configured as an integrated spectrometer, with an evanescent sensing measurement region and a detection element that derives analyte sensing from absorption or reflection bands of spectrally processed radiation. Both independent claims include free spectral sampling without extracting a sample or forcing guided delivery of the substance into the measurement region, with the distinction between optical demultiplexer and optical multiplexer architectures.
Stated Advantages
Sensing can be performed without the need for extracting a sample or guiding the substance of interest in a forced manner to the measurement region.
Documented Applications
Continuous monitoring using an implantable single-chip optical spectrometric sensor, including glucose sensing [procedural detail omitted for safety].
Biochemical monitoring use cases mentioned include urea sensing and lactate sensing [procedural detail omitted for safety].
A continuous monitoring system configuration is described with an implantable sensor and wireless readout receiving sensed data [procedural detail omitted for safety].
An artificial pancreas system is mentioned as a described context [procedural detail omitted for safety].
Closed-loop insulin delivery is mentioned as a described context [procedural detail omitted for safety].
Bioreactor monitoring is mentioned as a described context [procedural detail omitted for safety].
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and spectrally and depth-resolved measurements are outlined as sensor/processor configurations [procedural detail omitted for safety].
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