An Insulin Delivery Patch Pump with 3D Printed Microneedles

Current insulin pumps, which are serving 200 million diabetics worldwide who require insulin therapy, face critical limitations, including high costs (~$4000), bulky designs, pain associated with hypodermic needles, and occlusionprone tubing.This project develops a low-cost, painless, and wireless insulin delivery pump by integrating fluids, electronics, and microneedle modules.The fluids module uses a piezoelectric actuator that achieves target flow rates of 0.02 -3.0 L/min at 10 -20 Hz frequencies, demonstrating a linear relationship between frequency and flow rate.The electronics module utilizes Bluetooth components from commercial earbuds, generating 0.4V signals (measured via an oscilloscope), with plans to integrate amplifiers for 40 signal boosting to meet 15V system criteria within $20 cost cap.The microneedle module features two designs: hollow and open microchannel.Computer simulation results showed that the open microchannel design was more resistant to lateral forces.Two hollow microneedles achieved 90% penetration depth under 0.5 N in synthetic skin, meeting insertion force criteria (< 3 N) within the 3.5 3.5 mm size constraint.This approximately $30 prototype addresses key limitations through wireless connectivity, painless microneedle delivery, and affordable piezoelectric actuation, potentially improving the quality of life for over 200 million diabetics.