Wearable microneedle patch
A system and method for monitoring body chemistry of a user, the system comprising: a housing supporting: a microsensor comprising a first and second working electrode, a reference electrode, and a counter electrode, and configured to access interstitial fluid of the user, and an electronics subsystem comprising a signal conditioning module that receives a signal stream, from the microsensor, wherein the electronics subsystem is configured to detect an impedance signal derived from two of the first working electrode, the second working electrode, the reference electrode, and the counter electrode; and a processing subsystem comprising: a first module configured to generate an analysis indicative of an analyte parameter of the user and derived from the signal stream and the impedance signal, and a second module configured to transmit information derived from the analysis to the user, thereby facilitating monitoring of body chemistry of the user.
1. A health-monitor patch system, comprising:
a disposable first portion including:
a microsensor having a plurality of microneedles configured to access interstitial fluid of a user and generate one or more signals in response to detection of at least one analyte in the interstitial fluid, wherein the one or more signals include an impedance signal, and
an adhesive region configured to couple to skin of the user; and
a reusable second portion coupleable to the first portion and including:
an electronics subsystem configured to be in communication with the microsensor when the reusable second portion is coupled to the disposable first portion, wherein the electronics subsystem includes a microprocessor programmed with instructions to:
condition the one or more signals,
analyze the impedance signal in the one or more conditioned signals to determine an adjustment to at least one electrical parameter for the microsensor for increasing detection accuracy of the at least one analyte of the microsensor,
control operation of the microsensor based on the adjustment to the at least one electrical parameter, and
generate an analysis based on the one or more conditioned signals, wherein the analysis is indicative of an analyte parameter for the at least one analyte in the interstitial fluid; and
an interface configured to wirelessly communicate with a mobile computing device configured to display the generated analysis of the at least one analyte for viewing by the user.
2. The health-monitor patch system of claim 1 wherein the microprocessor is further configured to detect whether the microneedles are accessing the interstitial fluid of the user based on the impedance signal.
3. The health-monitor patch system of claim 2 wherein the microprocessor is further configured to compare the impedance signal to an impedance threshold condition.
4. The health-monitor patch system of claim 2 wherein, if the microprocessor determines that the microneedles are not properly accessing the interstitial fluid of the user, the microprocessor is configured to generate and transmit a notification to the mobile computing device.
5. The health-monitor patch system of claim 1 wherein the microsensor is configured to switch between a current sensing mode and an impedance detection mode.
6. The health-monitor patch system of claim 5 wherein the microsensor is configured to switch from the current sensing mode to the impedance detection mode in response to a triggering event.
7. The health-monitor patch system of claim 6 wherein the triggering event includes one or more of: initial application of the health-monitor patch system to the user's body, a sensor signal indicating performance of an action by a user, a regular time interval, or an irregular time interval.
8. The health-monitor patch system of claim 1 , further comprising a storage module configured to store a user-specific model, wherein the microprocessor is further configured to use the user-specific model to generate the analysis based on the one or more conditioned signals.
9. The health-monitor patch system of claim 1 , wherein the electronics subsystem is configured to perform a calibration routine.
10. The health-monitor patch system of claim 9 wherein the calibration routine comprises normalizing signals relative to a grounded portion of the microsensor.
11. The health-monitor patch system of claim 1 , wherein:
the adjustment to the at least one electrical parameter affects the microsensor's generation of signals.
12. The health-monitor patch system of claim 1 wherein the microprocessor is further programmed to determine one or more mechanical adjustments, and wherein the one or more mechanical adjustments include an application of a biasing force to the microsensor configured to increase the microsensor's access to the interstitial fluid of the skin of the user.
13. The health-monitor patch system of claim 11 wherein the electronics subsystem supplies a drive voltage to the microsensor, and wherein the adjustment to the at least one electrical parameter includes a change in at least one characteristic of the drive voltage.
14. The health-monitor patch system of claim 1 wherein the adjustment to the at least one electrical parameter includes a change in a magnitude of a drive voltage supplied by the electronics subsystem to the microsensor.
15. The health-monitor patch system of claim 1 wherein the electronics subsystem supplies a drive voltage to the microsensor, and wherein the adjustment to the at least one electrical parameter includes a change in a waveform of the drive voltage.
16. The health-monitor patch system of claim 1 wherein the microprocessor is further programmed to determine one or more mechanical adjustments based on the one or more conditioned signals, wherein the one or more mechanical adjustments include an injection of a calibration fluid into the interstitial fluid of the skin of the user.
17. A health-monitor patch system, comprising:
a disposable component including:
a microsensor having a plurality of microneedles configured to access interstitial fluid of a user, wherein the microsensor is configured to detect at least one analyte in the interstitial fluid and to generate one or more signals that include an impedance signal, and
an adhesive portion configured to couple to a user's skin to hold the plurality of microneedles in the user's skin; and
a reusable second component including:
an electronics subsystem communicably coupleable to the microsensor when the reusable second portion is coupled to the disposable first component, wherein the electronics subsystem includes a processor programmed with instructions to:
analyze the one or more signals to determine an electrical adjustment to operation of the microsensor for increasing detection accuracy of the at least one analyte of the microsensor, wherein the determined electrical adjustment is at least partially based on the impedance signal, wherein signals of the one or more signals are conditioned,
control operation of the microsensor based on the determined electrical adjustment, and
generate output indicative of an analyte parameter for the at least one analyte in the interstitial fluid based on the one or more conditioned signals; and
an interface configured to wirelessly communicate with a remote computing device to send the output to the remote computing device.
18. The health-monitor patch system of claim 17 wherein the analyte parameter for the at least one analyte in the interstitial fluid is at least partially indicative of at least one health-related condition or events of the user.
19. The health-monitor patch system of claim 17 wherein the processor is further configured to detect whether the microneedles are accessing the interstitial fluid of the user based on the impedance signal.
20. The health-monitor patch system of claim 19 wherein the processor is further configured to compare the impedance signal to an impedance threshold condition.
21. The health-monitor patch system of claim 19 wherein, if the processor determines that the microneedles are not properly accessing the interstitial fluid of the user, the microprocessor is further programmed with instructions to generate and transmit a notification to the remote computing device.
22. The health-monitor patch system of claim 17 wherein the microsensor is configured to switch between a current sensing mode and an impedance detection mode.
23. The health-monitor patch system of claim 17 wherein the remote computing device is a mobile computing device associated with the user.
24. The health-monitor patch system of claim 17 wherein the remote computing device is a cloud computing device.
25. The health-monitor patch system of claim 17 wherein controlling operation of the microsensor based on the one or more conditioned signals is configured to calibrate the microsensor to increase the detection accuracy for each signal generated by the microsensor.
26. The health-monitor patch system of claim 17 wherein the reusable second portion establishes electrical communication between the microsensor and the electronics subsystem when attached to the disposable first portion.