Research abstract
PROJECT SUMMARY
The long-term goal of this project is to develop a scalable, user-friendly, continuous metabolic
monitoring (CMM) system to improve the performance and reliability of hormone replacement therapy
for millions of diabetes patients. IMS has developed the world's smallest wireless electrochemical
analyte sensing platform based on an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) using
Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology. This design offers some unique
advantages due to its active digital sensor (compared to passive analog sensors in competitor designs)
including extreme miniaturization, on-chip integration of multiple sensors, improvement in signal-to-
noise (SNR) ratio (thus improving hypoglycemia accuracy), decrease in sensor capacitance and
membrane thickness (thus improving response speed), universal interference rejection (using a
background reference sensor and subtracting its signal from all sensors), and on-chip temperature
calibration (improve accuracy, reliability by confirming the sensor is in the tissue and measuring the
correct temperature). The proposed CMM will enable users to benefit from useful drugs (e.g., metformin,
SGLT2 inhibitors), exercise, and automated insulin delivery systems without meal announcements,
carbohydrate counting, and the risk of adverse side effects. Hence, the design is highly innovative.
We have demonstrated the function of the first-generation platform for continuous glucose monitoring
(CGM) in humans. Continuous lactate monitoring (CLM) can significantly improve the system's value
to detect impending Lactic Acidosis that goes unnoticed with the current CGM systems. We have
demonstrated the CLM in animals and a multiplexed CGM-CLM at the proposed size scale in the lab.
Our objective in this proposal is to develop a CMM that can sense glucose, lactate, and temperature
in the interstitial fluid (ISF) using a single wireless sensor smaller than half a sesame seed. The small
and flexible (20um thick with polymer coatings) sensor minimizes the foreign body response (FBR).
This research is significant as it will enable the first CMM system capable of a small, pain-free needle
insertion (26-gauge needle) that can work for a long time (rt30 days) with factory calibration (no finger
sticks). Once proven, this system can be extended to include other important analytes (e.g., ketones,
insulin, glucagon) without increasing its size, owing to the on-chip integration of multiple sensors.
The team includes original inventors of the core technology from the California Institute of Technology
(Dr. Nazari, Dr. Rahman, Mr. Sencan), a seasoned and respected researcher in electrochemical sensor
technology (Bill Van Antwerp, former CSO of Medtronic MiniMed), biomaterials expert (Dr. Jonathan
Lakey of UC Irvine), regulatory and IP expert (John Heithaus, JD), commercialization expert (Mr. Peter
Rule; former President of MiniMed, Chairman of Therasense, and OptiScan), clinical experts (Dr. Alan
Marcus, MD; former Chief Medical Officer of Medtronic Diabetes), and implantable biosensors and
lactate Monitoring expert (Dr. Natalie Wisniewski, Ph.D., former CTO of Profusa, Inc.).
Verified by the same UEI. These are other public SBIR/STTR award pages, not a merged company record.
Verified by an exact topic code match. This is not a text-similarity match.
11 SBIR/STTR records share this UEI (2016–2025). Reported award amounts total $4,976,700. Reported amounts are not federal obligations.