Blue Sparrow Medical

Aside, from the numerous complications and risks of diabetes one of biggest pains (no pun intended) is the daily blood testing.  So, the promise of not having to prick your fingers to test your blood sugar is the “holy grail” of diabetics everywhere.  A non-invasive method for checking for blood sugar means less pain for users because blood will no longer have to be drawn.  This results in less pain and increased safety amongst users.  Non-invasive also helps users save money.  Since test strips will no longer have to be purchased, it will save users hundreds of dollars a year. (By using Blue Sparrow’s WaveSense meter and strips you can save money right now on the cost of glucose testing strips.) Health Insurance companies will also be able to reduce premiums for diabetics because there will be less financial coverage that they must provide. 

In a world of nanobots and satellites that can read a license plate, it is very fair to ask “why isn’t there a better way to do this?”  Since the 1990s, technology has allowed researchers to consider a non-invasive method to test for blood sugar.  Non-invasive means that no puncture of the skin necessary.  There are a few ways that researchers have tried to achieve this.  One method is using near IR detection.  This method works by analyzing very small molecular vibrations that glucose gives off.  As a result, the amount of vibrations could be analyzed by a sensor to give you a reading of your blood sugar.  Researchers are also considering using ultrasound, which are sound waves with very high frequencies that we cannot hear.  Ultrasounds cause small amounts of glucose to begin to come towards the outside layer of skin.  Although this amount is harmless, it can be read by a sensor that is placed just below the top of the skin.  A third method that could be considered is dielectric spectroscopy.  This technique could potentially find your blood sugar by using a sensor which analyzes how the glucose in your blood reacts when it is exposed to electric fields.

Currently, there is one FDA approved non-invasive glucose meter is the GlucoWatch G2 Biographer.  This device was intended to track trends and patterns of blood sugar over the course of the day for adults only.  By fitting around wrist like a watch, small electric currents result in specific body fluids to come towards the surface of the skin.  These fluids can be analyzed to give a ballpark figure of your blood sugar.  That’s the catch, it provides a ballpark range not an actual test that could be used to for insulin dosage.  The FDA also requires conventional blood samples to still be taken.  In other words, this new device is not a replacement for reliable blood sample testing and much work is still needed to be done to fix its accuracy and precision.  The other drawback of the glucowatch is the high price tag (about $5,000 per year). This product has not achieved widespread market exposure because it still requires blood samples. 

So, what’s on the horizon? There are countless projects being undertaken worldwide to design the most effective non-invasive meter.  A team in Hong-Kong recently used near IR detection to design a device to measure blood sugar.  Their device won a gold medal at the Geneva Invention Expo in April, 2007.  Their device has proven, in some cases, to be 85% accurate.  Another non-invasive meter, developed by Biosign Technologies in

Theirs still a long ways to go to increase the functionality of non-invasive meters.  One problem is caused by electrical interference by other processes in the body. Another problem is that the measurements are often not reproducible.  Thirdly, the position of a sensor has a big impact on its accuracy.  All three of these problems are still being tackled by researchers.  Scientists are currently trying to produce accurate readings that are able to be reproduced each time.  With constant technological advances, the time for reliable and convenient non-invasive blood sugar readings is at hand.  It could be only a few years until finding your blood sugar is as easy as taking your temperature. 

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