GlucoseMonitoring
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FDA OKs a blood sugar monitor that doesn't need fingerpricks
A fingerprick isn't just a fingerprick when you have to do it all the time to test your blood sugar levels. Thankfully, the Food and Drug Administration has approved the first continuous glucose monitoring system for adults that doesn't require you to draw blood several times a day. Abbott's FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System works by inserting a tiny sensor wire below the surface of your skin. The wire needs 12 hours to start up, but once it's ready, you can simply pass a mobile reader over it to read your glucose levels. It even works for 10 days before you have to replace it.
A future Apple Watch could be essential for diabetics
Apple is quietly developing a sensor that can monitor a person's blood sugar levels continuously and non-invasively. If successful, the technology will be integrated into a future version of the Apple Watch to help people with diabetes manage their condition. At least, that's the scuttlebutt being slung around by CNBC, which claims the project was set up by Steve Jobs before his death.
Google's Life Sciences division to build a miniature glucose tracker
A pin-prick from a finger stick is a daily ritual for about 10 percent of the American population. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 29.1 million people in the United States have diabetes. In most cases, the condition requires long-term medication and lifestyle changes that are based on the patient's daily glucose levels. Dexcom, a California-based company known for its diabetes-management devices, has partnered with Google's Life Sciences division (now a subsidiary of the much-talked about Alphabet) to develop a miniature product line of its existing continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system. The new disposable version of the slap-on sensor could potentially replace the bulk of blood-monitoring devices.
The power of tears: Why Google has its eye on smart contact lenses
When the cronut craze swept across New York in early spring of last year, the only major inconvenience associated with Dominique Ansel's novel culinary confection was the pain of waiting in line to get it. For a responsible person living with Type 1 (or Type 2) diabetes, like my good friend Cara, that wait time for a hip baked good would've been compounded by a few more irritating factors. First, there'd be a necessary finger prick test (administered in the open by an always on-hand glucometer) to measure blood sugar levels an hour before eating. Then, a guesstimate would need to be calculated of just how many carbs that precious SoHo sweet contained, followed by an adjustment of insulin delivery levels on a waist-worn pump. And, finally, a follow-up finger prick test would need to be done two hours after eating the cronut to once again establish a necessary insulin base line. That is true inconvenience. That is life with diabetes. And as you might imagine, not all diabetics are this disciplined. But Google wants to change that... with contact lenses.
iPhone reads blood glucose level with nanosensor tattoo (Updated)
For diabetics, checking blood glucose levels is literally a pain. Current blood glucose meters require a prick of the finger to get a small blood sample that is then put onto a small paper strip, inserted into the meter, and analyzed. The strips are a recurring cost to diabetics, and the constant finger pricks can be a route for infection. Now a research team at Northeastern University has developed a method of reading blood glucose levels with an iPhone and a nanosensor tattoo. The team's method works this way: they inject a patient with subdermal nanoparticles containing "fluorescent dye, specialized sensor molecules...and a charge-neutralizing molecule." The molecules attach to glucose, release ions, and alter the glow of the nanosensor tattoo based on the relative amount of glucose. While the initial device for reading the tattoo's glow was a big ugly box, one of the team members apparently outfitted an iPhone case with LEDs and filters to do the job. According to our sister site Engadget, the team is also looking at a way to measure blood sodium (associated with dehydration) and oxygen levels with iPhones and apps. You never thought that your iPhone would be an early-generation medical tricorder, did you? Update: Since a few commenters asked, this is an experimental device and has not (to our knowledge) been submitted to the FDA for their lengthy approval process.
Researchers receive grant to develop color-changing contacts for diabetics
Contact lenses that act as a glucose monitoring system for diabetics aren't exactly a new idea, but it looks like a group of researchers from the University of Western Ontario might be a bit closer to making them a reality, as they've now received a $200,000+ grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation to further develop the technology. The secret to their contacts are some "extremely small" nanoparticles that are embedded in the hydrogel lenses which, like some similar systems (such as those pictured at right), react to the glucose molecules in tears and cause a chemical reaction that changes the color of the lenses -- thereby informing the wearer when their blood sugar is too low or too high. What's more, the reseachers say the same basic idea could also have a wide range of other applications beyond glucose monitoring -- for instance, being used in food packaging to indicate if the food is spoiled or contaminated. [Thanks, Yuka]
Freedom Meditech promises glucose-monitoring eye scanner
There's certainly no shortage of efforts out there to make glucose monitoring a bit easier for diabetics, but Freedom Meditech is now claiming to have developed one of the least invasive to date and, what's more, it says it's actually gearing up to start some clinical trials. That latter bit is apparently possible thanks to a newly formed partnership with Batelle, which is helping to raise the necessary capital, while the former bit got a boost from an arrangement with the University of Toledo, whose technology it is licensing. The key bit, it seems, is that Freedom Meditech's method involves scanning only the front portion of the eye (or, more specifically, the Aqueous humor where the glucose resides) instead of shining a light on the retina, which some similar methods use. That apparently not only delivers results faster, but reduces the risk of any potential long-term safety hazards from repeated laser exposure, which would also make it better suited as a tool for early screening of diabetes.
