DEVELOPMENT OF AN ARTIFICIAL PANCREAS (Semester Unknown) IPRO 308: Creating an Artificial Pancreas IPRO 308 Poster F08

Our team was asked to come up with an innovative and non-invasive means of extracting and measuring glucose levels in the body as well as administering insulin back into the body, also by non-invasive means. Our research lead us to several reports on the effectiveness of ultrasound in expanding pore opening diameters. We decided to approach the problem with a device that would administer ultrasonic vibration to the surface of the skin thus expanding the pore openings. Once expanded a combination of vacuum and reverse iontophoresis would then extract a small amount of interstitial fluid. The fluid would be measured for glucose concentration using impedance spectroscopy. Once a glucose concentration was found, a proper amount of insulin would then be administered back through the skin by means of pressure and iontophoresis. Our experiments were conducted on harvested porcine skin. Sonic vibration at or around 10kHz served as a substitute for ultrasound. Vacuum was administered to the surface of the skin after a set amount of time of sonic vibration. Although results at first seemed promising, further investigation into the behavior of harvested skin yielded that our results were not as they seemed. Impedance spectroscopy was explored by first trying to find the resonant frequency of glucose. Earlier attempts at this were unsuccessful do to frequency limitations of measuring devices. Our team learned of a device that could measure 10 times higher frequencies than what had previously been recorded, but unfortunately was unable to solidify a concrete resonant frequency for glucose.Deliverable