the present invention provides a significant advance in biosensor and glucose monitoring technology : portable , virtually non - invasive , self - calibrating , integrated and non - implanted sensors which continuously indicate the user &# 39 ; s blood glucose concentration , enabling swift corrective action to be taken by the patient . the sensor and monitor of this invention may be used to measure other analytes as well , such as electrolytes like sodium or potassium ions . as will be appreciated by persons of skill in the art , the glucose sensor can be any suitable sensor including , for example , an electrochemical sensor an optical sensor . fig1 shows a schematic cross - section of one embodiment of the invention in use . the glucose monitor 100 has an array of unique hollow microneedles 102 or other tissue piercing elements extending through the stratum corneum 104 of a user into the interstitial fluid 106 beneath the stratum corneum . suitable microneedle arrays include those described in stoeber et al . u . s . pat . no . 6 , 406 , 638 ; u . s . patent application publ . no . 2005 / 0171480 ; and u . s . patent application publ . no . 2006 / 0025717 . the needles in array 102 are hollow and have open distal ends , and their interiors communicate with a sensing area 110 within a sensor channel 108 . sensing area 110 is therefore in fluid communication with interstitial fluid 106 through microneedle array 102 . in this embodiment , sensing area 110 and the microneedles 102 are pre - filled with sensing fluid prior to the first use of the device . thus , when the device is applied to the user &# 39 ; s skin and the microneedles pierce the stratum corneum of the skin , there is substantially no net fluid transfer from the interstitial fluid into the microneedles . rather , glucose diffuses from the interstitial fluid into the sensing fluid within the needles , as described below . disposed above and in fluid communication with sensor channel 108 is a glucose sensor 112 . in some embodiments , glucose sensor is an electrochemical glucose sensor that generates an electrical signal ( current , voltage or charge ) whose value depends on the concentration of glucose in the fluid within sensing area 110 . details of the operation of glucose sensor 112 are discussed in more detail below . sensor electronics element 114 receives the voltage signal from sensor 112 . in some embodiments , sensor electronics element 114 uses the sensed signal to compute a glucose concentration and display it . in other embodiments , sensor electronics element 114 transmits the sensed signal , or information derived from the sensed signal , to a remote device , such as through wireless communication . glucose monitor 100 is held in place on the skin 104 by one or more adhesive pads 116 . glucose monitor 100 has a novel built - in sensor calibration system . a reservoir 118 containing a sensing fluid having , e . g ., a glucose concentration between about 0 and about 400 mg / dl . in some embodiments , the glucose concentration in the sensing fluid is selected to be below the glucose sensing range of the sensor . the sensing fluid may also contain buffers , preservatives or other components in addition to the glucose . upon actuation of a pump manually or automatically , plunger or other actuator 120 , sensing fluid is forced from reservoir 118 through a check valve 122 ( such as a flap valve ) into sensing channel 108 . any sensing fluid within channel 108 is forced through a second check valve 124 ( e . g ., a flap valve ) into a waste reservoir 126 . check valves or similar gating systems are used to prevent contamination . because the fresh sensing fluid has a known glucose concentration , sensor 112 can be calibrated at this value to set a base line . after calibration , the sensing fluid in channel 108 remains stationary , and glucose from the interstitial fluid 106 diffuses through microneedles 102 into the sensing area 110 . changes in the glucose concentration from over time reflect differences between the calibration glucose concentration of the sensing fluid in the reservoir 118 and the glucose concentration of the interstitial fluid which can be correlated with the actual blood glucose concentration of the user using proprietary algorithms . because of possible degradation of the sensor or loss of sensor sensitivity over time , the device may be periodically recalibrated by operating actuator 120 manually or automatically to send fresh sensing fluid from reservoir 118 into sensing area 110 . in some embodiments , microneedle array 102 , reservoirs 118 and 126 , channel 108 , sensor 112 and adhesive pads 116 are contained within a support structure ( such as a housing 128 ) separate from electronics element 114 and actuator 120 , which are supported within their own housing 130 . this arrangement permits the sensor , sensing fluid and microneedles to be discarded after a period of use ( e . g ., when reservoir 118 is depleted ) while enabling the electronics and actuator to be reused . a flexible covering ( made , e . g ., of polyester or other plastic - like material ) may surround and support the disposable components . in particular , the interface between actuator 120 and reservoir 118 must permit actuator 120 to move sensing fluid out of reservoir 118 , such as by deforming a wall of the reservoir . in these embodiments , housings 128 and 130 may have a mechanical connection , such as a snap or interference fit . fig2 shows an exploded view of another embodiment of the invention . this figure shows a removable seal 203 covering the sharp distal ends of microneedles 202 and attached , e . g ., by adhesive . seal 203 maintains the sensing fluid within the microneedles and sensing area prior to use and is removed prior to placing the glucose monitor 200 on the skin using adhesive pressure seal 216 . in this embodiment , microneedles 202 , sensing fluid and waste reservoirs 218 and 226 , sensing microchannel 208 and electrochemical glucose sensor 212 are contained within and / or supported by a housing 228 which forms the disposable portion of the device . a second housing 230 supports an electronics board 214 ( containing , e . g ., processing circuitry , a power source , transmission circuitry , etc .) and an actuator 220 that can be used to move sensing fluid out of reservoir 218 , through microchannel 208 into waste reservoir 226 . electrical contacts 215 extend from electronics board 214 to make contact with corresponding electrodes in glucose sensor 212 when the device is assembled . the following is a description of glucose sensors that may be used with the glucose monitors of this invention . in 1962 clark and lyons proposed the first enzyme electrode ( that was implemented later by updike and hicks ) to determine glucose concentration in a sample by combining the specificity of a biological system with the simplicity and sensitivity of an electrochemical transducer . the most common strategies for glucose detection are based on using either glucose oxidase or glucose dehydrogenase enzyme . electrochemical sensors for glucose , based on the specific glucose oxidizing enzyme glucose oxidase , have generated considerable interest . several commercial devices based on this principle have been developed and are widely used currently for monitoring of glucose , e . g ., self testing by patients at home , as well as testing in physician offices and hospitals . the earliest amperometric glucose biosensors were based on glucose oxidase ( gox ) which generates hydrogen peroxide in the presence of oxygen and glucose according to the following reaction scheme : electrochemical biosensors are used for glucose detection because of their high sensitivity , selectivity and low cost . in principal , amperometric detection is based on measuring either the oxidation or reduction of an electroactive compound at a working electrode ( sensor ). a constant potential is applied to that working electrode with respect to another electrode used as the reference electrode . the glucose oxidase enzyme is first reduced in the process but is reoxidized again to its active form by the presence of any oxygen resulting in the formation of hydrogen peroxide . glucose sensors generally have been designed by monitoring either the hydrogen peroxide formation or the oxygen consumption . the hydrogen peroxide produced is easily detected at a potential of + 0 . 6 v relative to a reference electrode such as an ag / agcl electrode . however , sensors based on hydrogen peroxide detection are subject to electrochemical interference by the presence of other oxidizable species in clinical samples such as blood or serum . on the other hand , biosensors based on oxygen consumption are affected by the variation of oxygen concentration in ambient air . in order to overcome these drawbacks , different strategies have been developed and adopted . selectively permeable membranes or polymer films have been used to suppress or minimize interference from endogenous electroactive species in biological samples . another strategy to solve these problems is to replace oxygen with electrochemical mediators to reoxidize the enzyme . mediators are electrochemically active compounds that can reoxidize the enzyme ( glucose oxidase ) and then be reoxidized at the working electrode as shown below : organic conducting salts , ferrocene and ferrocene derivatives , ferricyanide , quinones , and viologens are considered good examples of such mediators . such electrochemical mediators act as redox couples to shuttle electrons between the enzyme and electrode surface . because mediators can be detected at lower oxidation potentials than that used for the detection of hydrogen peroxide the interference from electroactive species ( e . g ., ascorbic and uric acids present ) in clinical samples such as blood or serum is greatly reduced . for example ferrocene derivatives have oxidation potentials in the + 0 . 1 to 0 . 4 v range . conductive organic salts such as tetrathiafulvalene - tetracyanoquinodimethane ( ttf - tcnq ) can operate as low as 0 . 0 volts relative to a ag / agcl reference electrode . nankai et al , wo 86 / 07632 , published dec . 31 , 1986 , discloses an amperometric biosensor system in which a fluid containing glucose is contacted with glucose oxidase and potassium ferricyanide . the glucose is oxidized and the ferricyanide is reduced to ferrocyanide . this reaction is catalyzed by glucose oxidase . after two minutes , an electrical potential is applied , and a current caused by the re - oxidation of the ferrocyanide to ferricyanide is obtained . the current value , obtained a few seconds after the potential is applied , correlates to the concentration of glucose in the fluid . there are multiple glucose sensors that may be used with this invention . in a three electrode system , shown in fig3 ( a ), a working electrode 302 is referenced against a reference electrode 304 ( such as ag / agcl ) and a counter electrode 306 ( such as pt ) provides a means for current flow . the three electrodes are mounted on a substrate 308 , then covered with a reagent 310 , as shown in fig3 ( b ). fig4 shows a two electrode system , wherein the working and counter electrodes 402 and 404 are made of different electrically conducting materials . like the embodiment of fig3 , the electrodes 402 and 404 are mounted on a flexible substrate 408 as shown in fig4 ( a ) and covered with a reagent 410 , as shown in fig4 ( b ). in an alternative two electrode system , the working and counter electrodes are made of the same electrically conducting materials , where the reagent exposed surface area of the counter electrode is slightly larger than that of the working electrode or where both the working and counter electrodes are substantially of equal dimensions . in amperometric and coulometric biosensors , immobilization of the enzymes is also very important . conventional methods of enzyme immobilization include covalent binding , physical adsorption or cross - linking to a suitable matrix may be used . in some embodiments , the reagent is contained in a reagent well in the biosensor . the reagent includes a redox mediator , an enzyme , and a buffer , and covers substantially equal surface areas of portions of the working and counter electrodes . when a sample containing the analyte to be measured , in this case glucose , comes into contact with the glucose biosensor the analyte is oxidized , and simultaneously the mediator is reduced . after the reaction is complete , an electrical potential difference is applied between the electrodes . in general the amount of oxidized form of the redox mediator at the counter electrode and the applied potential difference must be sufficient to cause diffusion limited electrooxidation of the reduced form of the redox mediator at the surface of the working electrode . after a short time delay , the current produced by the electrooxidation of the reduced form of the redox mediator is measured and correlated to the amount of the analyte concentration in the sample . in some cases , the analyte sought to be measured may be reduced and the redox mediator may be oxidized . in the present invention , these requirements are satisfied by employing a readily reversible redox mediator and using a reagent with the oxidized form of the redox mediator in an amount sufficient to insure that the diffusion current produced is limited by the oxidation of the reduced form of the redox mediator at the working electrode surface . for current produced during electrooxidation to be limited by the oxidation of the reduced form of the redox mediator at the working electrode surface , the amount of the oxidized form of the redox mediator at the surface of the counter electrode must always exceed the amount of the reduced form of the redox mediator at the surface of the working electrode . importantly , when the reagent includes an excess of the oxidized form of the redox mediator , as described below , the working and counter electrodes may be substantially the same size or unequal size as well as made of the same or different electrically conducting material or different conducting materials . from a cost perspective the ability to utilize electrodes that are fabricated from substantially the same material represents an important advantage for inexpensive biosensors . as explained above , the redox mediator must be readily reversible , and the oxidized form of the redox mediator must be of sufficient type to receive at least one electron from the reaction involving enzyme , analyte , and oxidized form of the redox mediator . for example , when glucose is the analyte to be measured and glucose oxidase is the enzyme , ferricyanide or quinone may be the oxidized form of the redox mediator . other examples of enzymes and redox mediators ( oxidized form ) that may be used in measuring particular analytes by the present invention are ferrocene and or ferrocene derivative , ferricyanide , and viologens . buffers may be used to provide a preferred ph range from about 4 to 8 . the most preferred ph range is from about 6 to 7 . the most preferred buffer is phosphate ( e . g ., potassium phosphate ) from about 0 . 1 m to 0 . 5 m and preferably about 0 . 4 m . ( these concentration ranges refer to the reagent composition before it is dried onto the electrode surfaces .) more details regarding glucose sensor chemistry and operation may be found in : clark l c , and lyons c , “ electrode systems for continuous monitoring in cardiovascular surgery ,” ann ny acad sci , 102 : 29 , 1962 ; updike s j , and hicks g p , “ the enzyme electrode ,” nature , 214 : 986 , 1967 ; cass , a . e . g ., g . davis . g . d . francis , et . al . 1984 . ferrocene - mediated enzyme electrode for amperometric determination of glucose . anal . chem . 56 : 667 - 671 ; and boutelle , m . g ., c . stanford . m . fillenz , et . al . 1986 . an amperometric enzyme electrode for monitoring brain glucose in the freely moving rat . neurosci lett . 72 : 283 - 288 . another embodiment of the disposable portion of the glucose monitor invention is shown in fig5 with a microneedle array 502 and a glucose sensor 512 in fluid communication with a sensing area in channel 508 . in this embodiment , actuator 520 is on the side of sensing fluid reservoir 518 , and the waste reservoir 526 is expandable . operation of actuator 520 sends sensing fluid from reservoir 518 through one way flap valve 522 into the sensing area in channel 508 and forces sensing fluid within channel 508 through flap valve 524 into the expandable waste reservoir 526 . in the embodiment of fig5 ( and potentially other embodiments ), the starting amount of sensing fluid in the calibration reservoir 518 is about 1 . 0 ml or less , and operation of the sensing fluid actuator 520 sends a few microliters ( e . g ., 10 μl ) of sensing fluid into channel 508 . recalibrating the device three times a day for seven days will use less than 250 μl of sensing fluid . fig6 and 7 show a remote receiver for use with a glucose monitoring system . the wireless receiver can be configured to be worn by a patient on a belt , or carried in a pocket or purse . in this embodiment , glucose sensor information is transmitted by the glucose sensor 602 applied to the user &# 39 ; s skin to receiver 600 using , e . g ., wireless communication such as radio frequency ( rf ) or bluetooth wireless . the receiver may maintain a continuous link with the sensor , or it may periodically receive information from the sensor . the sensor and its receiver may be synchronized using rfid technology or other unique identifiers . receiver 600 may be provided with a display 604 and user controls 606 . the display may show , e . g ., glucose values , directional glucose trend arrows and rates of change of glucose concentration . the receiver can also be configured with a speaker adapted to deliver an audible alarm , such as high and low glucose alarms . additionally , the receiver can include a memory device , such as a chip , that is capable of storing glucose data for analysis by the user or by a health care provider . in some embodiments , the source reservoir for the calibration and sensing fluid may be in a blister pack which maintains its integrity until punctured or broken . the actuator may be a small syringe or pump . use of the actuator for recalibration of the sensor may be performed manually by the user or may be performed automatically by the device if programmed accordingly . there may also be a spring or other loading mechanism within the reusable housing that can be activated to push the disposable portion — and specifically the microneedles — downward into the user &# 39 ; s skin . while preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described herein , it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that such embodiments are provided by way of example only . numerous variations , changes , and substitutions will now occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the invention . it should be understood that various alternatives to the embodiments of the invention described herein may be employed in practicing the invention . it is intended that the following claims define the scope of the invention and that methods and structures within the scope of these claims and their equivalents be covered thereby .
one aspect of the invention provides a glucose monitor having a plurality of tissue piercing elements , each tissue piercing element having a distal opening , a proximal opening and interior space extending between the distal and proximal openings ; a sensing area in fluid communication with the proximal openings of the tissue piercing elements ; sensing fluid extending from the sensing area into substantially the entire interior space of the tissue piercing elements ; and a glucose sensor adapted to detect a concentration of glucose in the sensing fluid within the sensing area . another aspect of the invention provides a method of in vivo monitoring of an individual &# 39 ; s interstitial fluid glucose concentration including the following steps : inserting distal ends of a plurality of tissue piercing elements through a stratum corneum area of the individual &# 39 ; s skin , the tissue piercing elements each having a distal opening , a proximal opening , an interior space extending between the distal and proximal openings , and a sensing fluid filling substantially the entire interior space ; and sensing a glucose concentration of the sensing fluid .