IMPLANTED SENSOR PROCESSING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROCESSING IMPLANTED SENSOR OUTPUT
First Claim
1. In a system comprising (a) an internal sensor unit having a circuit and (b) an external sensor unit, a method for determining the concentration of an analyte, comprising:
- using the external sensor unit to provide power to the internal sensor;
while the external sensor unit is providing power to the internal sensor unit,communicating to the external sensor unit information from which the concentration of the analyte can be determined, wherein the communicating step comprises changing an impedance of the circuit as a function of the concentration of the analyte, wherein a change in the impedance of the circuit causes a voltage in the external sensor unit to change; and
obtaining measurements of the voltage; and
generating information from the voltage measurements, wherein the information includes information from which the concentration of the analyte can be determined.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A quantitative measurement system includes an external unit and an internal unit are provided for obtaining quantitative analyte measurements, such as within the body. In one example of an application of the system, the internal unit would be implanted either subcutaneously or otherwise within the body of a subject. The internal unit contains optoelectronics circuitry, a component of which may be comprised of a fluorescence sensing device. The optoelectronics circuitry obtains quantitative measurement information and modifies a load as a function of the obtained information. The load in turn varies the amount of current through coil, which is coupled to a coil of the external unit. A demodulator detects the current variations induced in the external coil by the internal coil coupled thereto, and applies the detected signal to processing circuitry, such as a pulse counter and computer interface, for processing the signal into computer-readable format for inputting to a computer.
112 Citations
13 Claims
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1. In a system comprising (a) an internal sensor unit having a circuit and (b) an external sensor unit, a method for determining the concentration of an analyte, comprising:
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using the external sensor unit to provide power to the internal sensor; while the external sensor unit is providing power to the internal sensor unit, communicating to the external sensor unit information from which the concentration of the analyte can be determined, wherein the communicating step comprises changing an impedance of the circuit as a function of the concentration of the analyte, wherein a change in the impedance of the circuit causes a voltage in the external sensor unit to change; and obtaining measurements of the voltage; and generating information from the voltage measurements, wherein the information includes information from which the concentration of the analyte can be determined. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. Apparatus for retrieving information from a sensor device, comprising:
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an internal sensor unit for taking quantitative analyte measurements, including a first coil forming part of a power supply for said sensor unit, a load coupled to said first coil, and a sensor circuit for modifying said load in accordance with sensor measurement information obtained by said sensor circuit, said sensor circuit including a signal channel detector responsive to analyte measurement information, and a reference channel detector responsive to reference measurement information, outputs of said signal channel detector and said reference channel detector being combined in said sensor information for modifying said load, wherein said signal channel detector is configured to produce an output determinative of a positive transition time of said load modification, and said reference channel detector is configured to produce an output determinative of a negative transition time of said load modification; an external unit including a second coil which is mutually inductively coupled to said first coil upon said second coil being placed within a predetermined proximal distance from said first coil, an oscillator for driving said second coil to induce a charging current in said first coil, and a detector for detecting variations in a load on said second coil induced by changes to said load in said internal sensor unit and for providing information signals corresponding to said load changes; and a processor for receiving and processing said information signals; wherein said reference channel detector is configured to produce an output determinative of a positive transition time of said load modification, and said signal channel detector is configured to produce an output determinative of a negative transition time of said load modification.
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9. A sensor system, comprising:
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an internal unit, including; a tank circuit comprising a first coil and a capacitor, and a optoelectronics circuitry coupled to the tank circuit, said optoelectronics circuitry being configured to (1) obtain quantitative measurement information and (2) change the impedance of a circuit connected to the tank circuit as a function of the obtained quantitative measurement information; and an external unit, including; a second coil, an oscillator coupled to the second coil, and a detector coupled to the second coil, said detector being configured to detect a change in said impedance when the second coil is inductively coupled to the first coil. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification