Granted Patent B2

US 12,656,151 · App. 18/625,827 · Granted Jun 16, 2026

Inventors: David Seward (Seattle, WA); Ehsan Hajisaeid (Windham, NH); Kyle Breingan (Lowell, MA); Ayden Henson (Arlington, MA)

Assignee: INSULET CORPORATION

G01D5/165A61M5/31568G16H20/13

Abstract

Claims (35)

1 . A system for determining a position of a plunger in a drug delivery device comprising a drive mechanism configured to allow the plunger to move in a first direction while a liquid drug is being inserted into a reservoir and drive the plunger in a second direction to deliver the liquid drug to a patient, the system comprising:

sensor circuitry;

a first electrical contact;

a second electrical contact, wherein the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact are coupled to the sensor circuitry; and

a conductive element in electrical communication with the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact;

wherein the sensor circuitry is in electrical communication with the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact and is operable to:

receive a voltage or current value for at least one of the first electrical contact or the second electrical contact, the voltage or current value indicative of an electrical resistance between the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact;

determine a position of the plunger in the drug delivery device based on a mapping of the voltage, current value, or electrical resistance between the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact to a state or position of the plunger;

compare the position of the plunger to a predetermined threshold value indicating that the reservoir has reached at least a partially-filled state; and

when the position of the plunger passes the predetermined threshold value, set the drug delivery device into a wakeup mode via the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact, wherein the wakeup mode initializes or starts up the drug delivery device.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the conductive element is a rod.

3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the conductive element is operable to move with the plunger in the drug delivery device.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the conductive element is configured to slide past both the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact, increasing or decreasing the electrical resistance between the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact depending on the direction of movement of the conductive element.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sensor circuitry is operable to determine a decreased amount of a level of a liquid drug based on a decrease in the electrical resistance between the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sensor circuitry is operable to determine an increased amount of a level of a liquid drug based on an increase in the electrical resistance between the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sensor circuitry is operable to determine a level of a liquid drug in a reservoir of the drug delivery device based on the position of the plunger.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the conductive element is electrically charged prior to it contacting the first and/or second electrical contacts.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sensor circuitry is further operable to wake up the drug delivery device based on the electrical resistance between the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact.

10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sensor circuitry is further operable to wake up the drug delivery device based on the electrical resistance between the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact exceeding a threshold value.

11 . A method of determining a position of a plunger in a drug delivery device, comprising a drive mechanism configured to allow the plunger to move in a first direction while a liquid drug is being inserted into a reservoir and drive the plunger in a second direction to deliver the liquid drug to a patient, the method comprising:

contacting, by a conductive element, a first electrical contact and a second electrical contact;

receiving, by sensor circuitry in communication with the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact, a voltage or current value for at least one of the first electrical contact or the second electrical contact, the voltage or current value indicative of an electrical resistance between the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact;

determining, by the sensor circuitry, the position of the plunger in the drug delivery device based on a mapping of the voltage, current value, or electrical resistance between the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact to a state or position of the plunger;

comparing the position of the plunger to a predetermined threshold value indicating that the reservoir has reached at least a partially-filled state; and

when the position of the plunger passes the predetermined threshold value, setting the drug delivery device into a wakeup mode via the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact, wherein the wakeup mode initializes or starts up the drug delivery device.

12 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising determining, by the sensor circuitry, a level of a liquid drug in the drug delivery device based on the position of the plunger in the drug delivery device.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the conductive element is operable to move with the plunger in the drug delivery device.

14 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising moving the conductive element past both the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact, thereby increasing or decreasing the electrical resistance between the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact depending on the direction of movement of the conductive element.

15 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising determining, by the sensor circuitry, a decreased amount of a level of a liquid drug based on a decrease in the electrical resistance between the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact.

16 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising determining, by the sensor circuitry, an increased amount of a level of a liquid drug based on an increase in the electrical resistance between the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact.

17 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising determining, by the sensor circuitry, an amount of a liquid drug in a reservoir of the drug delivery device and outputting data indicative of the amount of the liquid drug to a user of the drug delivery device.

18 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising electrically charging the conductive element prior to the contacting the first and/or second electrical contacts.

19 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising waking up, by the sensor circuitry, the drug delivery device based on the electrical resistance between the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact.

20 . The method of claim 19 , further comprising comparing, by the sensor circuitry, the electrical resistance to a threshold value; and

waking up the drug delivery device if the electrical resistance surpasses the threshold.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (305)