These patents cover flexible, wearable sensors for non-invasive monitoring of subdermal fluid flow.
The company’s unique Epidermal Thermal Flow Sensor technology allows for the creation of a small, wireless, flexible device that attaches to the skin gently like a soft bandage. A sensor that can monitor flow-induced temperature responses on skin with an accuracy of one hundredth of a degree has been developed using new mechanical and thermal engineering methodologies. These enhancements, when combined with modern analytics, allow for accurate flow measurements down to a few microliters per minute.
“The challenge in biological flow sensing is getting useful signals without physically contacting the fluid and without immobilizing the patient,” said R. Chad Webb, PhD, Chief Technical Officer. “This technology overcomes both challenges by mechanically matching the sensor to the skin surface, eliminating motion-induced measurement noise and enabling reliable detection of the subtle flow-induced thermal responses”.
Multiple pilot studies have shown the technology’s efficacy in a variety of healthcare applications. FlowSense, a Rhaeos product now being employed in a major clinical trial for monitoring cerebrospinal fluid flow in hydrocephalus shunts, is also a significant enabler of the technology.
“The ability to noninvasively measure flow through biological systems is broadly useful for a number of medical applications,” said Siddharth R Krishnan, PhD, Rhaeos Co-Founder. “We’re very excited about the potential to improve care for patients with hydrocephalus, where the measurement of cerebrospinal fluid flow through implanted shunt systems could allow us to identify aberrant patterns and malfunctions more efficiently.”
Sensor designs and analytical methods for thermal examination of tissue, including noninvasively monitoring fluids such as blood flow, are described in US Patent No. 11160458, “Epidermal Devices for Analysis of Temperature and Thermal Transport Characteristics.” Conformable devices to quantify subdermal fluid flow and related procedures are described in US Patent No. 11259754, “Wireless and Noninvasive Epidermal Electronics.” By combining crucial materials, geometries, and signal processing techniques, these new devices and methods enable the detection of heat flow signals.
