US 11,980,498 B2
Implantable and biodegradable smart hydrogel micromechanical resonators with ultrasound readout for biomedical sensing
Christopher F. Reiche, Salt Lake City, UT (US); Florian Solzbacher, Salt Lake City, UT (US); Navid Farhoudi, Salt Lake City, UT (US); Steven M. Blair, Salt Lake City, UT (US); Jules J. Magda, Salt Lake City, UT (US); Lars B. Laurentius, Cottonwood Heights, UT (US); and Prattay Deepta Kairy, Salt Lake City, UT (US)
Assigned to University of Utah Research Foundation, Salt Lake City, UT (US)
Filed by UNIVERSITY OF UTAH RESEARCH FOUNDATION, Salt Lake City, UT (US)
Filed on May 7, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/315,039.
Application 17/315,039 is a continuation in part of application No. 16/330,048, granted, now 11,445,997, previously published as PCT/US2017/049944, filed on Sep. 1, 2017.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/022,098, filed on May 8, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/552,623, filed on Aug. 31, 2017.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/518,491, filed on Jun. 12, 2017.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/518,456, filed on Jun. 12, 2017.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/435,491, filed on Dec. 16, 2016.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/435,537, filed on Dec. 16, 2016.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/383,344, filed on Sep. 2, 2016.
Prior Publication US 2021/0267573 A1, Sep. 2, 2021
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. A61B 8/00 (2006.01); A61B 8/08 (2006.01); G10K 11/04 (2006.01)
CPC A61B 8/4272 (2013.01) [A61B 8/4483 (2013.01); A61B 8/5207 (2013.01); G10K 11/04 (2013.01); A61B 2562/0204 (2013.01); A61B 2562/028 (2013.01)] 22 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
17. A method for identifying one or more changes in a smart hydrogel microresonator structure positioned within an environment and having a resonance frequency in an ultrasound range, the method comprising:
providing a smart hydrogel microresonator structure, the smart hydrogel microresonator structure being positioned within the environment and configured to exhibit a change in resonance frequency in response to interaction with one or more predefined analytes in the environment, wherein the smart hydrogel microresonator structure is unconstrained so as to be configured to resonate;
providing an ultrasound transducer for querying the smart hydrogel microresonator structure within the environment at or near the resonance frequency of the smart hydrogel microresonator structure; and
providing a computer system in electrical communication with the ultrasound transducer, the computer system having one or more processors and being configured to:
receive, from the ultrasound transducer, ultrasound data as provided by query of the smart hydrogel microresonator structure by the ultrasound transducer at or near the resonance frequency; and
determine, at the one or more processors, at least one of: (i) a change in resonance frequency as induced by interaction of the one or more predefined analytes with the smart hydrogel microresonator structure in the environment; (ii) a change in mean grayscale value (MGV) associated with the ultrasound data of the smart hydrogel microresonator structure due to the change in the resonance frequency of the smart hydrogel microresonator structure as induced by interaction of the one or more predefined analytes with the smart hydrogel microresonator structure in the environment; or (iii) a change in amplitude or intensity of an ultrasound query wave or pulse as induced by interaction of the one or more predefined analytes with the smart hydrogel microresonator structure in the environment;
querying the smart hydrogel microresonator structure with the ultrasound transducer in the environment, at or near a resonance frequency of the smart hydrogel microresonator structure;
determining at least one of (i) the change in resonance frequency as induced by interaction of the one or more predefined analytes with the smart hydrogel microresonator structure in the environment; (ii) the change in mean grayscale value (MGV) associated with the ultrasound data of the smart hydrogel microresonator structure due to the change in the resonance frequency of the smart hydrogel microresonator structure as induced by interaction of the one or more predefined analytes with the smart hydrogel microresonator structure in the environment; or (iii) the change in amplitude or intensity of an ultrasound query wave or pulse as induced by interaction of the one or more predefined analytes with the smart hydrogel microresonator structure in the environment; and
determining the presence of and/or a concentration of one or more predefined analytes based on the determination of (i), (ii) or (iii).