See No More of those Pricks! Non-Invasive Diabetic Patch is Here
Finally, an end to all the pricking and pestering.
It is estimated that around 30.3 million people in the United States are living with diabetes, and there are around 1.5 million new cases diagnosed every year. And currently, there is no available needle-free approach for diabetics to monitor glucose levels in the interstitial fluid.
Now however, scientists at the Bath University have designed an electronic patch that non-invasively measure glucose levels through the skin. It works by drawing out glucose from fluid between cells across hair follicles, which are individually accessed via an array of miniature sensors using a small electric current. The glucose collects in tiny reservoirs and is measured.
An important advantage of this device over others is that each miniature sensor of the array can operate on a small area over an individual hair follicle – this significantly reduces inter- and intra-skin variability in glucose extraction and increases the accuracy of the measurements taken such that calibration via a blood sample is not required.
Further, the test can be taken as often as once every 10 to 15 minutes over a period of several hours. It is hoped that
once commercialized, the inexpensive disposable device could wirelessly transmit those readings to an app on the user’s smartphone, providing alerts when necessary.
“A non-invasive – that is, needle-less – method to monitor blood sugar has proven a difficult goal to attain,” said professor of the university’s department of pharmacy and pharmacology Richard Guy. “The closest that has been achieved has required either at least a single-point calibration with a classic ‘finger-stick’, or the implantation of a pre-calibrated sensor via a single needle insertion.”
“The monitor developed at Bath promises a truly calibration-free approach, an essential contribution in the fight to combat the ever-increasing global incidence of diabetes,” he continued.
“The specific architecture of our array permits calibration-free operation, and it has the further benefit of allowing realization with a variety of materials in combination,” said Dr. Adelina Ilie, from the University’s Department of Physics. “We utilized graphene as one of the components as it brings important advantages: specifically, it is strong, conductive, flexible, and potentially low-cost and environmentally friendly. In addition, our design can be implemented using high-throughput fabrication techniques like screen printing, which we hope will ultimately support a disposable, widely affordable device.”
In lab tests, the patch has been successfully used to monitor fluctuating blood glucose levels both in healthy human volunteers, and on pig skin with glucose levels representing the range seen in human diabetics. The scientists are now planning on optimizing the number of sensors in the patch, demonstrating its functionality over a 24-hour wear period, and performing clinical trials.
