Transcutaneous medical device with variable stiffness
First Claim
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1. A transcutaneous analyte sensor, the sensor comprising:
- a non-planar wire comprising an insulator coating, wherein the insulator coated wire comprises;
a distal portion comprising a distal tip and an electrochemically reactive surface of the wire, wherein the distal portion is configured for insertion into a host;
a proximal portion comprising a proximal tip and at least one portion of the wire exposed for electronic connection to an electronic device that remains external to the host; and
an intermediate portion located between the distal portion and the proximal portion, wherein the intermediate portion is configured for absorbing mechanical stresses caused by motion of the host,wherein a hardness and/or a modulus of elasticity of each of the distal, intermediate and proximal portions are different, whereby a stiffness of each of the distal, intermediate and proximal portions are different from physical or chemical processing of the insulator coated wire; and
a multi-domain membrane covering the electrochemically reactive surface of the wire.
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Abstract
The present invention relates generally to variable stiffness transcutaneous medical devices including a distal portion designed to be more flexible than a proximal portion. The variable stiffness can be provided by a variable pitch in one or more wires of the device, a variable cross-section in one or more wires of the device, and/or a variable hardening and/or softening in one or more wires of the device.
939 Citations
7 Claims
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1. A transcutaneous analyte sensor, the sensor comprising:
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a non-planar wire comprising an insulator coating, wherein the insulator coated wire comprises; a distal portion comprising a distal tip and an electrochemically reactive surface of the wire, wherein the distal portion is configured for insertion into a host; a proximal portion comprising a proximal tip and at least one portion of the wire exposed for electronic connection to an electronic device that remains external to the host; and an intermediate portion located between the distal portion and the proximal portion, wherein the intermediate portion is configured for absorbing mechanical stresses caused by motion of the host, wherein a hardness and/or a modulus of elasticity of each of the distal, intermediate and proximal portions are different, whereby a stiffness of each of the distal, intermediate and proximal portions are different from physical or chemical processing of the insulator coated wire; and a multi-domain membrane covering the electrochemically reactive surface of the wire. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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Specification