IMPLANTABLE HOLLOW FIBER GLUCOSE SENSOR

ASH MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC. IS DEVELOPING TWO CLOSELY RELATED DEVICES THAT WILL IMPROVE HOME AND HOSPITAL MONITORING OF GLUCOSE FOR DIABETICS. THE COMMON ELEMENT OF BOTH DEVICES IS A FIBER THAT IS IMPLANTED SUBCUTANEOUSLY. A NEGATIVE PRESSURE IS APPLIED TO THIS FIBER TO WITHDRAW TISSUE FLUID. IN THE HOSPITAL MODEL, THE FLUID WILL BE CONTINUOUSLY TRANSFERRED TO AN OPTICAL ANALYZER CURRENTLY BEING DEVELOPED. THIS HOSPITAL MODEL WILL ALLOW CONSTANT MONITOR-ING OF BLOOD GLUCOSE WITHOUT ANY DELAY BETWEEN DRAWING THE SAMPLE AND OBTAINING THE RESULTS. IN THE AMBULATORY MODEL, THE FLUID WILL BE COLLECTED IN A DEVICE THAT MAINTAINS THE SEPARATION OF SAMPLES COLLECTED AT DIFFERENT TIMES. THE SAMPLE COLLECTOR CAN BE COUPLED TO THE OPTICAL ANALYZER FOR DETERMINATION OF GLUCOSE VALUES OVER THE 2- TO 5-HOUR PERIODDURING WHICH THE SAMPLE COLLECTOR WAS USED. PAINFUL FINGER PRICKS ARE ELIMINATED. CURRENT GLUCOSE VALUES CAN BE OBTAINED AS OFTEN AS IS NECESSARY TO MAINTAIN GOOD CONTROL, AND A HISTORY OF GLUCOSE LEVELS OVER THE PAST SEVERAL HOURS CAN BE DETERMINED. THE AIMS OF THIS PROJECT ARE TO BUILD AND TEST THESE GLUCOSE SENSING DEVICES IN VITRO AND IN DIABETIC DOGS.