Wearable, non-intrusive microneedle sensor
AssigneeThe Regents of the University of California
InventorsFarshad Tehrani, Joseph Wang, Hazhir Teymourian
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Abstract
Disclosed here are devices, systems, and methods for continuous monitoring of biomarkers using a wearable, non-intrusive microneedle sensor patch platform. In some aspects, a wearable, non-intrusive microneedle sensor device includes a microneedle sensor unit couplable to an electronics unit, where the microneedle sensor unit comprises a substrate, an array of spiked microneedle structures configured as electrochemical sensor electrodes, an array of base structures that encase a lower portion of spiked microneedle structures, and electrical interconnections that electrically couple the electrodes to the electronics unit for processing of detectable signals associated with one or multiple biomarkers in a biofluid.
Claims30
A wearable, non-intrusive microneedle sensor device, comprising:
- a microneedle sensor unit, comprising:
- a substrate comprising an electrically insulative material,
- an array of spiked microneedle structures disposed on the substrate, wherein at least some of the spiked microneedle structures are configured as electrochemical sensor electrodes to detect an electrical signal from a reaction with a target analyte in a biofluid exposed to the array of spiked microneedle structures, wherein at least one electrochemical sensor electrode is functionalized by a chemical layer to interact with the target analyte in the biofluid and produce the electrical signal at the at least one electrochemical sensor electrode, and wherein each spiked microneedle structure of the array of spiked microneedle structures includes a body region and a tip region, the body region including a cylindrical shape having a spiral protrusion that winds around at least a portion of the body region, and the tip region including a conical shape,
- an array of base structures comprising an electrical insulator material, wherein each base structure encases a lower portion of the body region of a corresponding spiked microneedle structure, and
- a plurality of electrical interconnections disposed in or on the substrate, wherein each of the electrical interconnections is coupled to one or more of the spiked microneedle structures configured as the electrochemical sensor electrodes and to a contact terminus structure on the substrate;
- and
- an electronics unit in electrical communication with the plurality of electrical interconnections, the electronics unit comprising a circuit board, a signal processing circuit configured on the circuit board, a power source in electrical communication with the signal processing circuit, and a plurality of conductive pins that electrically couple the microneedle sensor unit to the electronics unit by allowing contact between an elongated region of a conductive pin to the terminus region of a corresponding electrical interconnection.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.