Highly Miniaturized, Low-Power CMOS ASIC Chip for Long-Term Continuous Glucose Monitoring.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Electrical Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is crucial for diabetes management.
• Existing CGM systems face challenges in miniaturization and power consumption.
• Development of a highly miniaturized, low-power biosensing platform is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a highly miniaturized, low-power biosensing platform for continuous glucose monitoring (CGM).
• To integrate an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chip with an amperometric glucose-sensing element.
• To create a transcutaneous CGM system for small laboratory animals with extended battery life.

Main Methods:

• Designed and implemented a custom 0.45 mm × 1.12 mm ASIC chip using 65-nm CMOS technology.
• Interfaced the ASIC chip with a multi-layer amperometric glucose-sensing element and a frequency-counting microprocessor.
• Conducted in vivo experiments in Sprague Dawley rats to assess performance.

Main Results:

• The miniaturized ASIC chip achieved a power consumption of approximately 36 µW.
• Demonstrated a linear frequency response (R² = 99.5) to glucose variations (2–25 mM) with a sensitivity of 1278 Hz/mM.
• Achieved six-day continuous glucose monitoring in rats with rapid glycemic response.

Conclusions:

• The developed CMOS ASIC chip is a versatile platform for highly miniaturized biosensing devices.
• Its miniature footprint and low-power consumption can improve the quality of life for diabetes patients.
• This technology holds potential for advanced, wearable diabetes management solutions.