# US 2021/0239648 A1 · Biosensor apparatus

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- Number: US 2021/0239648 A1
- Document ID: US20210239648A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 17/126,937
- Filed: 2020-12-18
- Published: 2021-08-05
- Earliest claimed: 2020-01-31
- Assignees: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
- Applicants: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
- Inventors: Yu-Jie Huang; Jui-Cheng Huang; Allen Timothy Chang
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20210239648A1

## CPC

- A61B 5/0031: {Implanted circuitry}
- A61B 5/1495: Calibrating or testing of in-vivo probes
- A61B 5/01: Measuring temperature of body parts {; Diagnostic temperature sensing, e.g. for malignant or inflamed tissue} (clinical contact thermometers G01K13/20)
- A61B 5/14532: {for measuring glucose, e.g. by tissue impedance measurement}
- A61B 5/14539: {for measuring pH}
- A61B 5/1473: invasive, e.g. introduced into the body by a catheter
- A61B 5/0538: invasively, e.g. using a catheter
- A61B 5/686: {Permanently implanted devices, e.g. pacemakers, other stimulators, biochips (A61B5/6861 takes precedence)}
- A61B 5/746: {Alarms related to a physiological condition, e.g. details of setting alarm thresholds or avoiding false alarms}
- A61B 2560/0276: Determining malfunction
- A61B 2562/028: Microscale sensors, e.g. electromechanical sensors [MEMS]
- A61B 2562/166: the sensor is mounted on a specially adapted printed circuit board
- H10N 30/302: {Sensors}
- H10N 30/306: {Cantilevers}
- H10N 30/802: {Circuitry or processes for operating piezoelectric or electrostrictive devices not otherwise provided for, e.g. drive circuits}
- A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D)
- H10N: ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR

## Abstract

A biosensor apparatus comprises a biosensor device and a cover that is configured to attach to the biosensor device. The biosensor device includes a surface section that is disposed above the user's skin and an implantable section that is injected into the user's skin. The implantable section includes a bending detector and sensing circuitry. The sensing circuitry includes one or multiples of a biomarker sensor array, a control biomarker sensor array, a temperature sensor, and/or a biofouling detector.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A semiconductor biosensor device, comprising:
a surface section comprising processing circuitry; and
an implantable section for injecting into a user's skin, the implantable section comprising:
a bending detector; and
a sensing region, the sensing region comprising:
a biomarker sensor array comprising a plurality of biomarker sensors operable to detect a biomarker;
a control biomarker sensor array comprising a plurality of biomarker-insensitive sensors;
a biofouling detector; and
a temperature sensor,
wherein the sensing region and the bending detector are operably connected to the processing circuitry.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor biosensor device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry comprises:
an analog-to-digital converter (ADC);
a processing device operably connected to the ADC; and
a wireless communication device operably connected to the processing device.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor biosensor device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry comprises a processing device.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor biosensor device of claim 1, wherein the sensing region further comprises a reference electrode.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor biosensor device of claim 1, wherein the bending detector comprises a cantilever-beam resistor.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor biosensor device of claim 1, wherein the surface section further comprises one or more contact pads.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The semiconductor biosensor device of claim 1, wherein the implantable section is injected into the user's skin with an introducer needle.

### Claim 8

A biosensor apparatus, comprising:
a semiconductor biosensor device, comprising:
a surface section comprising processing circuitry and a first contact pad; and
an implantable section for implanting in a user's skin, the implantable section comprising:
a bending detector; and
a sensing region comprising:
a plurality of biomarker sensor arrays, each biomarker sensor array comprising a plurality of biomarker sensors operable to detect a biomarker;
a control biomarker sensor array comprising a plurality of biomarker-insensitive sensors;
a biofouling detector; and
a temperature sensor,
wherein the sensing region and the bending detector are operably connected to the processing circuitry; and
a cover operable to attach to the semiconductor biosensor device, the cover comprising:
a second contact pad electrically connected to the first contact pad; and
an antenna.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The biosensor apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processing circuitry comprises:
an analog-to-digital converter (ADC);
a processing device operably connected to the ADC; and
a wireless communication device operably connected to the processing device and to the antenna.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The biosensor apparatus of claim 8, wherein:
the processing circuitry comprises a processing device; and
the cover comprises:
an analog-to-digital converter (ADC);
a wireless communication device operably connected to the ADC and to the antenna.

### Claim 11 (depends on 8)

The biosensor apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first contact pad is electrically connected to a first printed circuit board and to the second contact pad on a second printed circuit board that is in the cover.

### Claim 12 (depends on 8)

The biosensor apparatus of claim 8, wherein the plurality of biomarker sensor arrays are operably connected to a select circuit, the select circuit operable to select a signal from a biomarker sensor in a biomarker sensor array in the plurality of biomarker sensor arrays.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The biosensor apparatus of claim 12, further comprising a comparator circuit, wherein the selected signal is input into a first input of the comparator circuit and a signal from a biomarker-insensitive sensor in the control biomarker sensor array is input into a second input of the comparator circuit and the output signal output from the comparator circuit is used for pH calibration.

### Claim 14 (depends on 8)

The biosensor apparatus of claim 8, wherein the biofouling detector comprises two interdigitated electrodes operably connected to impedance sensing circuitry and an output signal output from the impedance sensing circuitry is used for calibration.

### Claim 15 (depends on 8)

The biosensor apparatus of claim 8, wherein the bending detector comprises a cantilever-beam resistor that is operably connected to resistance sensing circuitry and an output signal output from the resistance sensing circuitry is used for calibration.

### Claim 16 (depends on 8)

The biosensor apparatus of claim 8, wherein the sensing region further comprises a reference electrode.

### Claim 17

A method of operating a semiconductor biosensor device, the method comprising:
receiving, from a bending detector, a first signal;
determining a resistance change of the bending detector, the resistance change representing an amount of bend in the bending detector;
based on the resistance change, determining a first calibration value for a first calibration operation;
receiving a second signal from a biomarker-sensitive sensor;
receiving a third signal from a biomarker-insensitive sensor;
based on the second and the third signals, determining a pH calibration value for a second calibration operation;
receive, from a biofouling detector, a fourth signal;
based on the fourth signal, determining an impedance change of the biofouling detector; and
based on the impedance change, determining a second calibration value for a third calibration operation.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The method of claim 17, further comprising causing provision of an alarm based on the resistance change of the bending detector.

### Claim 19 (depends on 17)

The method of claim 17, wherein the alarm comprises at least one of:
tactile feedback;
an audible alarm; or
a visual alarm.

### Claim 20 (depends on 17)

The method of claim 17, wherein:
the biofouling detector comprises two interdigitated electrodes; and
the bending detector comprises a cantilever-beam resistor.