Patent ID: 9743870
Date: 2017-08-29
CPC Classifications: A61B,A61M,G01N

Claim:
1. A method for in situ measurement of one or more target chemical species present in a physiological fluid, the method comprising: causing a microneedle sensing device to contact the physiological fluid, wherein the microneedle sensing device includes a substrate and an array of electrically-conducting electrodes, wherein each electrically-conducting electrode is respectively disposed in a hollow interior of a hollow microneedle of a hollow microneedle array formed on the substrate, one electrode per hollow microneedle, wherein each electrically-conducting electrode has a tip located inside the hollow interior of its respective hollow microneedle to form a recess microcavity that surrounds the electrode within the hollow interior, wherein the tip is coated to be functionalized for interacting with one or more target chemical species present in a portion of the physiological fluid that is trapped in its respective recess microcavity; applying a stimulus signal to an electrically conductive structure disposed on the substrate that is coupled to the array of electrically-conducting electrodes to cause biosensing of the physiological fluid entrapped in each recess microcavity; and reading a resultant signal arising at an interface between the physiological fluid and the coated tip of the electrically-conducting electrode in each recess microcavity as part of the in situ measurement, wherein a property of said resultant signal is indicative of a concentration of the one or more target chemical species present in said physiological fluid.