Implantable and biodegradable smart hydrogel micromechanical resonators with ultrasound readout for biomedical sensing

A method for identifying one or more changes in a smart hydrogel microresonator structure positioned within an in vivo or other environment and having a resonance frequency in an ultrasound range, the method comprising:

• providing a smart hydrogel microresonator structure, the smart hydrogel microresonator structure being positioned within the in vivo or other environment and configured to exhibit a change in resonance frequency in response to interaction with one or more predefined analytes in the in vivo or other environment;
• providing an ultrasound transducer for querying the smart hydrogel microresonator structure within the in vivo or other environment at or near the resonance frequency of the smart hydrogel microresonator structure;
• and
• providing a computer system in electrical communication with the ultrasound transducer, the computer system having one or more processors and being configured to:
• receive, from the ultrasound transducer, ultrasound data as provided by query of the smart hydrogel microresonator structure by the ultrasound transducer at or near the resonance frequency;
• and
• determine, at the one or more processors, at least one of:
• (i) a change in resonance frequency as induced by interaction of the one or more predefined analytes with the smart hydrogel microresonator structure in the in vivo or other environment;
• (ii) a change in mean grayscale value (MGV) associated with the ultrasound data of the smart hydrogel microresonator structure due to the change in the resonance frequency of the smart hydrogel microresonator structure as induced by interaction of the one or more predefined analytes with the smart hydrogel microresonator structure in the in vivo or other environment;
• or (iii) a change in amplitude or intensity of an ultrasound query wave or pulse as induced by interaction of the one or more predefined analytes with the smart hydrogel microresonator structure in the in vivo or other environment;
• querying the smart hydrogel microresonator structure with the ultrasound transducer in the in vivo or other environment, at or near a resonance frequency of the smart hydrogel microresonator structure;
• determining at least one of (i) the change in resonance frequency as induced by interaction of the one or more predefined analytes with the smart hydrogel microresonator structure in the in vivo or other environment;
• (ii) the change in mean grayscale value (MGV) associated with the ultrasound data of the smart hydrogel microresonator structure due to the change in the resonance frequency of the smart hydrogel microresonator structure as induced by interaction of the one or more predefined analytes with the smart hydrogel microresonator structure in the in vivo or other environment;
• or (iii) the change in amplitude or intensity of an ultrasound query wave or pulse as induced by interaction of the one or more predefined analytes with the smart hydrogel microresonator structure in the in vivo or other environment;
• and
• determining the presence of and/or a concentration of one or more predefined analytes based on the determination of (i), (ii) or (iii).

A catheter detection system or other detection system including an integrated smart hydrogel microresonator structure on or in a tip of the catheter or on another substrate of another detections system for determining a concentration of an analyte in an environment adjacent to the catheter tip or other substrate, the system comprising:

• a catheter tip or other substrate having a tip;
• a smart hydrogel microresonator structure having a resonance frequency, positioned on the catheter tip or other substrate tip, the smart hydrogel microresonator structure being positioned within an intravenous or other detection environment during use, and configured to exhibit a change in resonance frequency in response to interaction with a drug or other analyte in the intravenous or other detection environment;
• an ultrasound transducer for querying the smart hydrogel microresonator structure within the intravenous or other detection environment at or near the resonance frequency of the smart hydrogel microresonator structure;
• and
• a computer system in electrical communication with the ultrasound transducer, the computer system having one or more processors and being configured to:
• receive, from the ultrasound transducer, ultrasound data as provided by query of the smart hydrogel microresonator structure by the ultrasound transducer at or near the resonance frequency;
• and
• determine, at the one or more processors, at least one of:
• (i) a change in resonance frequency as induced by interaction of the drug or other analyte with the smart hydrogel microresonator structure in the intravenous or other detection environment;
• (ii) a change in mean grayscale value (MGV) associated with the ultrasound data of the smart hydrogel microresonator structure due to the change in the resonance frequency of the smart hydrogel microresonator structure as induced by interaction of the drug or other analyte with the smart hydrogel microresonator structure in the intravenous or other environment;
• or (iii) a change in amplitude or intensity of an ultrasound query wave or pulse as induced by interaction of the one or more predefined analytes with the smart hydrogel microresonator structure in the in vivo or other environment.