US 12,188,002 B2
Sensing systems
Woon-Hong Yeo, Atlanta, GA (US); and Yun-Soung Kim, Atlanta, GA (US)
Assigned to Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta, GA (US)
Filed by Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta, GA (US)
Filed on Feb. 10, 2020, as Appl. No. 16/786,398.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/802,985, filed on Feb. 8, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2020/0255791 A1, Aug. 13, 2020
Int. Cl. C12M 1/34 (2006.01); A61B 5/145 (2006.01); C12M 1/00 (2006.01)
CPC C12M 41/26 (2013.01) [A61B 5/14532 (2013.01); C12M 23/14 (2013.01)] 13 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A smart bioreactor system comprising:
a flexible bioreactor comprising a flexible bioreactor membrane, the flexible bioreactor having a pre-containment configuration and a containment configuration;
a sensing system integrated onto a sensing portion of an inner surface of the flexible bioreactor membrane of the flexible bioreactor and comprising:
a membrane-embedded flexible electronic telemetry unit; and
a flexible, nanomembrane, multimodal sensing platform comprising an array of flexible nanomembrane sensors; and
a rocking unit;
wherein at least a portion of the flexible nanomembrane sensors of the array each comprise:
a sensor area;
a tab for electrical connection with the membrane-embedded flexible electronic telemetry unit; and
one or more bridges for electrical connection with a respective one or more adjacent flexible nanomembrane sensors of the array;
wherein at least a portion of the bridges of the array have a tear point formation wherein a thickness of a respective bridge at the tear point formation is designed to facilitate tear-off between two adjacent sensors;
wherein, in the pre-containment configuration, the sensing portion of the flexible bioreactor membrane is planar, so the multimodal sensing platform of the sensing system is also planar;
wherein, in the containment configuration, the bioreactor is configured to contain a biologically active environment, and as such, the sensing portion of the flexible bioreactor membrane is non-planar, conforming to the contained biologically active environment, so the multimodal sensing platform of the sensing system is also non-planar; and
wherein, in the containment configuration, the non-planar multimodal sensing platform of the sensing system is configured to:
provide spatial data of wireless real-time data representative of modalities of the biologically active environment moving within the flexible bioreactor resultant from rocking of the bioreactor via the rocking unit; and
be in direct contact with the moving biologically active environment contained within the flexible bioreactor.