Self-Powered Measurement System for Remote Monitoring of Human Metabolism

Continuous and minimally invasive measurements of metabolism are the key to the understanding and proper treatment of various pathologies. In this context, this paper deals with an innovative concept of a wireless measurement system that monitors glucose concentration and is simultaneously powered by self-measurement. The measurement system directly generates a radio transmission at a frequency proportional to the measured glucose concentration, acting de facto as a glucose concentration to time converter. In that way, a remote base station can indirectly detect glucose concentration by measuring the frequency of received radio signals. The outcome is a wireless measurement system, which uses the unique glucose biofuel cell to simultaneously perform energy harvesting and measurement with the immediate advantage of achieving greater energy efficiency and minimal use of components in its instrumentation.