The foreign body capsule that forms around implanted devices such as glucose sensors is hypovascular and has limited permeability to glucose. Such a capsule may function better if well vascularized. We hypothesized that capsular vascularization achieved by local release of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) would lead to enhanced function. Amperometric glucose sensor array disks, each with four indicating electrodes, were implanted into rats. Animals received local subcutaneous infusions of VEGF(165) via osmotic pumps at a location on the sensor face 2 mm from one of the electrodes ("near units"). "Intermediate" electrode units were 15 mm, and "distant" units were 22 mm, from the VEGF source. Every 2 weeks, a glucose infusion was given to assess sensor function by telemetry. Near units demonstrated a lower lag duration (delay after blood glucose) than intermediate and distant units. The mean absolute relative difference for near units was less than for distant units. The percentage of data pairs in the A region of the Clarke error grid of the near sensing units was greater than that of the distant units. Values for the functional measures for saline controls fell between near and distant VEGF values. Glucose sensor function was found to be more favorable in units immediately adjacent to the VEGF infusion port. The most likely cause for this finding is increased neovessel growth in the surrounding foreign body capsule. Slow release of angiogenic growth factors may be a potential method for chronically enhancing the function of a subcutaneously implanted biosensor.

Although continuous electrochemical glucose monitoring holds promise in the management of diabetes, its utility is limited in part because of error of unclear origin. The use of redundant glucose sensors in an array might reduce such error. We hypothesized that in a subcutaneously implanted array, a median-based continuous computation that excludes outlying data would lead to more accurate glucose measurement than averaging of all signals. Each rat was implanted with an array of four sensing units, and each unit transmitted data independently to an external monitoring device. Animals underwent perturbation of glucose by insulin infusions in diabetic animals and glucose infusions in nondiabetic animals, and in both, capillary glucose monitoring was performed frequently. Repeat glucose perturbation studies were performed every 1-2 weeks. We observed that a median-based technique, the Z-score with Median Absolute Deviation (ZMAD), consistently led to greater sensing accuracy as compared with signal averaging. The ZMAD technique yielded a correlation coefficient of 0.93, and 96% of values fell in the A and B regions of the Clarke error grid, demonstrating a high degree of accuracy of the unified signal. When tested in an implanted array of glucose sensors, a median-based technique (ZMAD) yields an accurate unified signal, and its accuracy is superior to signal averaging.

A closed loop system of diabetes control would minimize hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. We therefore implanted and tested a subcutaneous amperometric glucose sensor array in alloxan-diabetic rats. Each array employed four sensing units, the outputs of which were processed in real time to yield a unified signal. We utilized a gain-scheduled insulin control algorithm which rapidly reduced insulin delivery as glucose concentration declined. Such a system was generally effective in controlling glycemia and the degree of lag between blood glucose and the sensor signal was usually 3-8 min. After prolonged implantation, this lag was sometimes longer, which led to impairment of sensor accuracy. Using a prospective two-point calibration method, sensor accuracy and closed loop control were good. A revised algorithm yielded better glycemic control than the initial algorithm did. Future research needs to further improve calibration methods and reduce foreign body fibrosis in order to avoid a time-related increase in lag duration.

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