CLOSED-LOOP ARTIFICIAL PANCREAS CONTROLLED BY BODY MOVEMENTS

Abstract

A closed-loop artificial pancreas controlled by body movements, which includes: a sensor used for detecting blood glucose concentration; an infusion module used for infusing drug into the body; a control module connected to the sensor and the infusion module, respectively; and a sensing module operatively connected to the control module and used to sense or recognize the user's body movements, and different body movements represent different functional instructions, and according to the body movement sensed or recognized by the sensing module, the control module controls the sensor or the infusion module to execute corresponding functional instructions, which enhances the user experience.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention mainly relates to the field of medical instruments, in particular to a closed-loop artificial pancreas controlled by body movements.

BACKGROUND

The pancreas in a normal person can automatically monitor the amount of glucose in the blood and automatically secrete the required dosage of insulin/glucagon. However, for diabetic patients, the function of the pancreas is abnormal, and the pancreas cannot normally secrete required dosage of insulin. Therefore, diabetes is a metabolic disease caused by abnormal pancreatic function and also a lifelong disease. At present, medical technology cannot cure diabetes, but can only control the onset and development of diabetes and its complications by stabilizing blood glucose.

Patients with diabetes need to check their blood glucose before injecting insulin into the body. At present, most of the detection methods can continuously detect blood glucose, and send the blood glucose data to the remote device in real time for the user to view. This detection method is called Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM), which requires the detection device to be attached to the surface of the patients' skin, and the sensor carried by the device is inserted into the subcutaneous tissue fluid for testing. According to the blood glucose (BG) level, the infusion device, as a closed-loop or semi-closed-loop artificial pancreas, injects the currently required insulin dose.

At present, when a user uses a closed-loop artificial pancreas, he needs to find different inputting positions on the remote device to manually input functional instruction, and then control the CGM or the infusion pump to perform corresponding functions. This inputting process is cumbersome, which worsens the user experience.

Therefore, in the prior art, there is an urgent need for a closed-loop artificial pancreas that simplifies the functional instruction inputting process and has a better user experience.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The embodiment of the present invention discloses a closed-loop artificial pancreas controlled by body movements. If the user's body movement, as a functional instruction, is sensed by a sensing module, the control module can control the sensor or the infusion module to execute the corresponding function without the user manually inputting the functional instruction on the remote device, enhancing the user experience.

The invention discloses a closed-loop artificial pancreas controlled by body movements, which comprises: a sensor used for detecting blood glucose concentration; an infusion module used for infusing drug into the body; a control module connected to the sensor and the infusion module, respectively; and a sensing module operatively connected to the control module and used to sense or recognize the user's body movements, and different body movements represent different functional instructions, and according to the body movement sensed or recognized by the sensing module, the control module controls the sensor or the infusion module to execute corresponding functional instructions.

According to one aspect of the present invention, functional instructions include calibrating the sensor, activating or deactivating the sensor, adjusting the blood glucose concentration alarm threshold, infusing drug or stopping infusing drug, priming the infusion needle, puncturing or retracting the infusion needle, adjusting the infusion speed or infusion mode, adjusting the amount of drug infusion, turning on or off the alarm, connecting or disconnecting the remote device, switching the user's physical state, or starting the event.

According to one aspect of the invention, the drug includes insulin or glucagon.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the control module includes a first sub-control module connected to the sensor and a second sub-control module connected to the infusion module, and the first sub-control module and the second sub-control module are wirelessly connected, and the sensing module is connected to the first sub-control module or the second sub-control module.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the sensor and the infusion module are pasted on different positions of the user's skin, the first sub-control module is a transmitter while the second sub-control module is a pump base.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the sensing module includes a first sub-sensing module connected to the first sub-control module and a second sub-sensing module connected to the second sub-control module.

According to one aspect of the present invention, it further includes a body movement verification module which is connected to the sensing module.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the body movements include one or a combination of jumping, squatting, leg movements, arm movements, taps on the sensing module, bending over, torso twist, special way of walking.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a linear acceleration sensor or a gyroscope sensor is provided in the sensing module.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the linear acceleration sensor is a three-axis linear acceleration sensor.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the sensing module, the control module, the sensor and the infusion module are arranged in a single device.

Compared with the prior art, the technical solution of the present invention has the following advantages:

In the closed-loop artificial pancreas controlled by body movements disclosed in the present invention, a control module connected to the sensor and the infusion module, respectively; and a sensing module operatively connected to the control module and used to sense or recognize the user's body movements, and different body movements represent different functional instructions, and according to the body movement sensed or recognized by the sensing module, the control module controls the sensor or the infusion module to execute corresponding functional instructions. Compared with manual inputting, body movements are directly used as functional instructions, avoiding the user from searching the inputting position of the functional instructions on the remote device, which is simple and convenient, and improves the user experience as well.

Furthermore, the closed-loop artificial pancreas controlled by body movements further includes a body movement verification module which is connected to the sensing module. The movement verification module is used to confirm whether the user's body movements meet the standard or the requirements preset in this module, improving the safety of the artificial pancreas.

Furthermore, the body movements include one or a combination of jumping, squatting, leg movements, arm movements, taps on the sensing module, bending over, torso twist, special way of walking. There are many types of body movements which are relatively easy to be performed by users. At the same time, the combination of multiple body movements also improves the flexibility in the manufacturing process in the factory or the operating process for user. And generally, the more types of body movements included by one functional instruction, the safer of the artificial pancreas while executing them.

Furthermore, the linear acceleration sensor is a three-axis linear acceleration sensor. The three-axis linear acceleration sensor can detect acceleration changes in the three directions of the X, Y, and Z axes, which has the advantage of quickly and accurately detecting body movements and also improves the sensitivity of movement detection.

Furthermore, the sensing module, control module, sensor and infusion module are arranged in a single device. The integrated design of multiple modules in a single device can improve the integration degree of the artificial pancreas, which reduces the number of structures pasted on the user skin, facilitates the user's daily physical activities, and further enhances the user experience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1a is a schematic view of a closed-loop artificial pancreas module controlled by body movements according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a schematic cross-sectional view of a closed-loop artificial pancreas controlled by body movements according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2a-FIG. 2b are schematic views of the module structure of the artificial pancreas including a movement verification module according to two different embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3a is a schematic view of a module structure of a control module including a first sub-control module and a second sub-control module according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3b is a schematic cross-sectional view of an infusion module and a sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4a is a schematic view of a module structure of a sensing module including a first sub-sensing module and a second sub-sensing module according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4b is a schematic cross-sectional view of an infusion module and a sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As mentioned above, the artificial pancreas in the prior art requires the user to find a inputting position on a remote device and manually inputting functional instructions, which worsens user experience.

Researches have found that the cause of the above problems is that the artificial pancreas in prior arts does not have a sensing structure sensing the user's body movements, therefore, the body movements cannot be used as functional instructions.

In order to solve this problem, the present invention provides a closed-loop artificial pancreas controlled by body movements, which is provided with a sensing module for sensing body movements directly used as functional instructions, thereby improving user experience.

Various exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The relative arrangement of the components and the steps, numerical expressions and numerical values set forth in the embodiments are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

In addition, it should be understood that, for ease of description, the dimensions of the various components shown in the figures are not necessarily drawn in the actual scale relationship, for example, the thickness, width, length or distance of certain units may be exaggerated relative to other structures.

The following description of the exemplary embodiments is merely illustrative, and is not intended to be in any way limiting the invention and its application or use. The techniques, methods and devices that are known to those of ordinary skill in the art may not be discussed in detail, but such techniques, methods and devices should be considered as part of the specification.

It should be noted that similar reference numerals and letters indicate similar items in the following figures. Therefore, once an item is defined or illustrated in a drawing, it will not be discussed further in following description of the drawings.

FIG. 1a is a schematic view of a closed-loop artificial pancreas module controlled by body movements according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1b is a schematic cross-sectional view of a closed-loop artificial pancreas controlled by body movements according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The module 100 is a sensing module which is used to sense or recognize body movements of the user.

The sensing module 100 is provided with a linear acceleration sensor or a gyroscope sensor which can not only sensitively and accurately sense the user's body movement, but also can recognize the type of the user's body movement.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the linear acceleration sensor is a three-axis linear acceleration sensor which can detect small acceleration changes in the three directions of X, Y, and Z axes. It has the advantage of enhanced sensitivity for movement detection and is capable of rapid detection of body movements.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the sensing module 100 is a gyroscope sensor. The gyroscope sensor can accurately detect the user's rotational body movements such as, torso twist, special way of walking and circling.

Preferably, in the embodiment of the present invention, a linear acceleration sensor and a gyroscope sensor are provided in the sensing module 100. And the linear acceleration sensor is a three-axis linear acceleration sensor.

In another embodiment of the present invention, only a linear acceleration sensor is provided in the sensing module 100, which is not specifically limited here.

Module 101 is a control module which is used to control the sensor 102 or the infusion module 103 to execute corresponding functional instructions.

The control module 101 and the sensing module 100 are operatively connected to facilitate the transmission of instruction signals between the two modules. Here, the term “operatively connected” means that the control module 101 can directly or indirectly obtain body movement information from the sensing module 100, thereby controlling the sensor 102 or the infusion module 103 to perform the corresponding functional instructions, which will be described below in conjunction with different embodiments.

Preferably, in the embodiment of the present invention, the sensing module 100 and the control module 101 are electrically connected. The electrical connection between the two not only facilitates structural design, but also reduces power consumption compared with the wireless connection.

The closed-loop artificial pancreas of the present invention also includes a sensor 102 and an infusion module 103. The sensor 102 is used to detect blood glucose (BG) concentration while the infusion module 103 is used for infusing drug into the user's body. Therefore, the infusion module 103 includes structures required for drug infusion (like insulin or glucagon), such as including but not limited to a drug storage unit, a driving unit, a piston position detection unit, a power supply, and the like. In some embodiments of the present invention, the power supply can also be provided outside the infusion module, which is not specifically limited herein.

The sensor 102 and the infusion module 103 are respectively connected to the control module 101, preferably electrically connected. Therefore, the control module 101 can separately or simultaneously control the sensor 102 and the infusion module 103 to execute corresponding functional instructions, as shown in FIG. 1a.

Herein, the term “connected” means that the control module 101 and the sensor 102 or the infusion unit 103 are electrically or wirelessly connected to each other. And the “connected” of any two modules or any two structures hereinafter has the same meaning.

Obviously, in the embodiment of the present invention, the functional instructions include the functions that the sensor 102 can perform, such as including but not limited to calibrating the sensor, activating or deactivating the sensor, adjusting the BG concentration alarm threshold; also including those that the infusion module 103 can perform, such as including but not limited to infusing drug or stopping infusing drug, priming the infusion needle, puncturing or retracting the infusion needle, adjusting the infusion speed or infusion mode, adjusting the amount of drug infusion, and starting the event. It also includes functions that can be performed by both the sensor 102 and the infusion module 103, such as including but not limited to switching the user's physical state, connecting or disconnecting the remote device.

It should be noted here that the BG concentration alarm threshold is used to produce an alert to the user when the blood glucose is too high or too low. The infusion of drugs includes basal dose infusion and bolus dose infusion. Adjusting the infusion speed or the infusion mode means that according to the user's physical state, the user reasonably selects or the artificial pancreas auto-selects the driving type or the driving mode of the driving unit in the infusion module 103, thereby achieving the goal of optimal BG controlling. Connecting or disconnecting the remote device means that the user can choose whether to connect the sensor 102 or the infusion module 103 to the remote device according to actual needs. Switching the user's physical state means that the user switches from the sitting state to the sleeping state, or from the sleeping state to the wake-up state, etc. Starting the event means indicating the user's meal event, sports event, or bathing event.

The functions performed by the closed-loop artificial pancreas controlled by body movements in the embodiment of the present invention are controlled by the user's body movements. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, different body movements of the user represent different functional instructions. In the embodiment of the present invention, the body movement includes one or a combination of jumping, squatting, leg movements, arm movements, taps on the sensing module, bending over, torso twist, special way of walking. Compared with manual inputting, body movements are much easier to implement, which improves the user experience. At the same time, the combination of multiple body movements also improves the flexibility in the manufacturing process in the factory or the operating process for user. And generally, the more types of body movements included by one functional instructions, the safer of the artificial pancreas while executing them.

It should be noted here that tapping the sensing module 100 not only includes direct contact with the sensing module 100, but also includes indirect contact or non-contact. For example, the user can tap the clothing around the sensing module 100. Leg movements include, but are not limited to, raising the leg and shaking the leg. Arm movements include, but are not limited to, vibrating arms and swinging arms. Special walking methods include, but are not limited to, forward and backward walking, circle walking and zigzag.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the functional instructions are represented by single movement or a combination of multiple movements among the above-mentioned body movements, and no limit is set on the frequency of a certain body movement. Preferably, in the embodiment of the present invention, the functional instruction for priming the infusion needle is to tap the sensing module 100 three times. Tapping three times is chosen instead of one, two, or more than three times, which avoids the interference caused by accidental movements, and is more convenient and more user-friendly than tapping more than three times. In another embodiment of the present invention, the functional instruction for the basal dose infusion is that the user bends down first, and then twists the torso twice. In still another embodiment of the present invention, the functional instruction for activating the sensing module 100 is zigzagging.

Preferably, in the embodiment of the present invention, the sensing module 100, the control module 101, the sensor 102 and the infusion module 103 are arranged in a single device 10 which is pasted on a certain position of the user's skin, as shown in FIG. 1B. The integrated design of the above-mentioned modules in a single device 10 can improve the integration degree of the artificial pancreas, reducing the number of structures pasted on the user skin, facilitating the user's daily physical activities, and further enhancing the user experience.

FIG. 2a-FIG. 2b are schematic views of the module structure of the artificial pancreas including a movement verification module 204 according to different embodiments of the present invention.

The movement verification module 204 is connected with the sensing module 200 and is used to confirm whether the user's body movements meet the standard or the requirements (such as speed, intensity, or frequency preset), so as to improve the safety of the artificial pancreas. When the sensing module 200 detects a user's specific body movement which does not meet the preset requirements or the standard, the artificial pancreas will issue a specific form of alarm (such as light, sound, vibration, etc.), allowing the user to perform more standard body movement again. Similarly, when the body movement meets the requirements or the standard, the artificial pancreas can also send out a specific form of warning (such as light, sound, vibration, etc.).

The embodiment of the present invention does not specifically limit the position of the movement verification module 204 and its connection relationship with other modules, as long as the condition for the movement verification module 204 to be connected to the sensing module 200 can be met. Preferably, in the embodiment of the present invention, the movement verification module 204 is provided between the sensing module 200 and the control module 201, as shown in FIG. 2a. Therefore, after the sensing module 200 senses or recognizes the user's body movement, the movement verification module 204 confirms whether the movement meets the requirements or the standard. If met, the control module 201 receives the body movement information indirectly from the sensing module 200, thereby controlling the sensor 202 or the infusion module 203 to execute the corresponding functional instruction. At this time, sensing module 200 is operatively connected with the control module 201.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the movement verification module 204 may also only be connected to the sensing module 200, as shown in FIG. 2b. When the movement verification module 204 confirms that the body movement meets the requirements or the standard, the control module 201 can obtain the corresponding instruction information directly, and then control the sensor 202 or the infusion module 203 to execute the corresponding functional instruction.

For the principle and manner of controlling the sensor 202 and the infusion module 203 by the control module 201, please refer to the foregoing description, which will not be repeated here.

FIG. 3a is a schematic view of a module structure of a control module 301 including a first sub-control module 301a and a second sub-control module 301b according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3b is a schematic cross-sectional view of the infusion module 303 and the sensor 302 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the sensor 302 and the infusion module 303 are respectively pasted on different positions of the user's skin. Therefore, the control module 301 includes a first sub-control module 301a and a second sub-control module 301b which are connected to the sensor 302 and the infusion module 303, respectively. The wireless connection between the first sub-control module 301a and the second sub-control module 301b is shown in FIG. 3a.

Preferably, in the embodiment of the present invention, the first sub-control module 301a is a transmitter while the second sub-control module 301b is a pump base. The transmitter and the pump base can be connected to each other through wireless signals.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the sensing module 300 is electrically connected to the pump base. If one body movement related to the functional instruction of the infusion module 303 is sensed by the sensing module 300, the second sub-control module 301b can obtain the body movement information directly and control the infusion module 303 to execute the corresponding functional instruction. Similarly, if the body movement related to the functional instruction of the sensor 302 is sensed by the sensing module 300, the second sub-control module 301b transmits the corresponding body movement information to the first sub-control module 301a through wireless signals. Therefore, the first sub-control module 301a receives body movement information indirectly, and then controls the sensor 302 to execute corresponding functional instructions.

Similarly, in another embodiment of the present invention, the sensing module 300 is electrically connected to the transmitter. If the body movement representing the functional instruction is sensed, the first sub-control module 301a can control the sensor 302 to execute it. Or the second sub-control module 301b receives the wireless signal from the first sub-control module 301a, and then controls the infusion module 303 to execute the corresponding functional instruction.

FIG. 4a is a schematic view of a module structure of a sensing module 400 including a first sub-sensing module 400a and a second sub-sensing module 400b according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4b is a schematic cross-sectional view of an infusion module 403 and a sensor 402 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the sensor 402 and the infusion module 403 are respectively pasted on different positions of the user's skin. The sensing module 400 includes a first sub-sensing module 400a and a second sub-sensing module 400b. At this time, the control module 401 includes a first sub-control module 401a and a second sub-control module 401b. The first sub-sensing module 400a and the second sub-sensing module 400b are respectively connected to the first sub-control module 401a and the second sub-control module 401b. At the same time, the control module 401a can obtain the body movement information of the sensing module 400a to control the sensor 402 to execute corresponding functional instructions. Similarly, the control module 401b can obtain the body movement information of the sensing module 400b, and then control the infusion module 403 to execute the corresponding functional instructions. After setting the first sub-sensing module 400a and the second sub-sensing module 400b, the user can make targeted body movements on the sensor 402 or the infusion module 403, making it easier for the artificial pancreas to sense or recognize the corresponding body movements, and complete the corresponding function more efficiently.

It should be noted that in another embodiment of the present invention, the first sub-control module 401a and the second sub-control module 401b are wirelessly connected. Since different functional instructions correspond to different body movements, when the second sub-sensing module 400b senses a body movement requiring the sensor 402 to execute the functional instruction, the second sub-control module 401b wirelessly transmits the corresponding body movement information to the first sub-control module 401a. Similarly, when the first sub-sensing module 400a senses a body movement that requires the infusion module 403 to execute, the first sub-control module 401a wirelessly transmits the corresponding body movement information to the second sub-control module 401a, as shown in FIG. 4b. Similarly, certain body movements can be sensed and recognized by the first sub-sensing module 400a and the second sub-sensing module 400b at the same time, such as body rotation or body squatting.

In summary, the present invention discloses a closed-loop artificial pancreas controlled by body movements. If the user's body movement, as a functional instruction, is sensed by a sensing module, the control module can control the sensor or the infusion module to execute the corresponding function without the user manually inputting the functional instruction on the remote device, enhancing the user experience.

While the invention has been described in detail with reference to the specific embodiments of the present invention, it should be understood that it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the above embodiments may be modified without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A closed-loop artificial pancreas controlled by body movements, comprising: a sensor used for detecting a blood glucose concentration;an infusion module used for infusing a drug into a body;a control module connected to the sensor and the infusion module, respectively; anda sensing module operatively connected to the control module and used to sense or recognize a user's body movements, and different body movements represent different functional instructions, and according to the body movements sensed or recognized by the sensing module, the control module controls the sensor or the infusion module to execute functional instructions, which correspond to the body movements.

2. The closed-loop artificial pancreas controlled by the body movements of claim 1, wherein the functional instructions include calibrating the sensor, activating or deactivating the sensor, adjusting a blood glucose concentration alarm threshold, infusing the drug or stopping infusing the drug, priming a infusion needle, puncturing or retracting the infusion needle, adjusting a infusion speed ora infusion mode, adjusting the amount of drug infusion, turning on or off an alarm, connecting or disconnecting the remote device, switching the user's physical state, or starting an event.

3. The closed-loop artificial pancreas controlled by the body movements of claim 2, wherein the drug includes an insulin or a glucagon.

4. The closed-loop artificial pancreas controlled by the body movements of claim 2, wherein the control module includes a first sub-control module connected to the sensor and a second sub-control module connected to the infusion module, and the first sub-control module and the second sub-control module are wirelessly connected, and the sensing module is connected to the first sub-control module or the second sub-control module.

5. The closed-loop artificial pancreas controlled by the body movements of claim 4, wherein the sensor and the infusion module are pasted on different positions of the user's skin, the first sub-control module is a transmitter while the second sub-control module is a pump base.

6. The closed-loop artificial pancreas controlled by the body movements of claim 4, wherein the sensing module includes a first sub-sensing module connected to the first sub-control module and a second sub-sensing module connected to the second sub-control module.

7. The closed-loop artificial pancreas controlled by the body movements of claim 1, further comprising: a body movement verification module which is connected to the sensing module.

8. The closed-loop artificial pancreas controlled by the body movements of claim 1, wherein the body movements comprises one or a combination of jumping, squatting, leg movements, arm movements, taps on the sensing module, bending over, torso twist, special way of walking.

9. The closed-loop artificial pancreas controlled by the body movements of claim 8, wherein a linear acceleration sensor or a gyroscope sensor is provided in the sensing module.

10. The closed-loop artificial pancreas controlled the by body movements of claim 9, wherein the linear acceleration sensor is a three-axis linear acceleration sensor.

11. The closed-loop artificial pancreas controlled the by body movements of claim 1, wherein the sensing module, the control module, the sensor and the infusion module are arranged in a single device.