Medical device for glucose monitoring or regulation
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A medical device comprising:
- an implantable member comprising an analyte responsive porous membrane which reversibly changes its porosity subject to changes in analyte concentration occurring in the medium surrounding the implantable member;
a pressure generating means configured to deliver a liquid to the analyte responsive porous membrane; and
a sensor adapted to measure a flow resistance of said liquid through the analyte responsive porous membrane.
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Abstract
A medical device comprising a pressure generating means adapted to deliver a liquid, a sensor adapted to measure a flow resistance, and an implantable member comprising an analyte responsive porous membrane which reversibly changes its porosity subject to changes in analyte concentration occurring in the solution surrounding the implantable member. The analyte may in particular be glucose. The medical device may also be used for drug administration.
21 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A medical device comprising:
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an implantable member comprising an analyte responsive porous membrane which reversibly changes its porosity subject to changes in analyte concentration occurring in the medium surrounding the implantable member; a pressure generating means configured to deliver a liquid to the analyte responsive porous membrane; and a sensor adapted to measure a flow resistance of said liquid through the analyte responsive porous membrane. - View Dependent Claims (2, 8, 10, 11)
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3. A medical device comprising:
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an implantable member comprising an analyte responsive porous membrane which reversibly changes its porosity subject to changes in analyte concentration occurring in the medium surrounding the implantable member; a pressure generating means configured to deliver a liquid to the analyte responsive porous membrane; and a sensor adapted to measure a flow resistance of said liquid through the analyte responsive porous membrane, wherein the sensor comprises a flexible membrane that is displaced upon liquid delivery, and a decay behavior of the flexible membrane is used to determine the flow resistance.
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4. A medical device comprising:
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an implantable member comprising an analyte responsive porous membrane which reversibly changes its porosity subject to changes in analyte concentration occurring in the medium surrounding the implantable member; a pressure generating means configured to deliver a liquid to the analyte responsive porous membrane; a sensor adapted to measure a flow resistance of said liquid through the analyte responsive porous membrane;
a disposable unit (36) and a reusable unit (38), the disposable unit comprising the implantable member (4), a portion (3a) of a flow resistance sensor (3), a liquid medicine reservoir (20) and a portion (22a) of a pump (22), and the reusable unit comprising a signal processing circuit, a power supply, a complementary portion (3b) of said flow resistance sensor, and a complementary portion (22b) of said pump.
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5. A medical device comprising:
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an implantable member comprising an analyte responsive porous membrane which reversibly changes its porosity subject to changes in analyte concentration occurring in the medium surrounding the implantable member; a pressure generating means configured to deliver a liquid to the analyte responsive porous membrane; and a sensor adapted to measure a flow resistance of said liquid through the analyte responsive porous membrane, wherein the implantable member comprises a support tube (9) with holes (8) filled or lined with the analyte responsive porous membrane (28, 28′
). - View Dependent Claims (6, 7)
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9. A medical device comprising:
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an implantable member comprising an analyte responsive porous membrane which reversibly changes its porosity subject to changes in analyte concentration occurring in the medium surrounding the implantable member; a pressure generating means configured to deliver a liquid to the analyte responsive porous membrane; and a sensor adapted to measure a flow resistance of said liquid through the analyte responsive porous membrane, wherein the implantable member comprises a valve (14) positioned proximate a free end of the implantable member, the valve comprising a pressure valve made of opposed abutting elastic protuberances.
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12. A method of operating a medical device comprising an analyte responsive porous membrane which changes its porosity subject to changes in an analyte concentration occurring in a solution surrounding the analyte responsive porous membrane, comprising:
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pumping a liquid in one or more discrete pre-determined volumes towards the analyte responsive porous membrane; measuring a flow resistance of the liquid through the analyte responsive porous membrane; and determining an analyte concentration based on the measured flow resistance. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of measuring an analyte concentration, the method comprising:
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providing a medical device comprising an analyte responsive porous membrane which changes its porosity subject to changes in analyte concentration occurring in a solution surrounding the analyte responsive porous membrane; delivering a liquid in one or more discrete pre-determined volumes towards the analyte responsive porous membrane; measuring a flow resistance of the liquid through the analyte responsive porous membrane; and determining an analyte concentration based on the measured flow resistance. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification