Laser sensor could replace finger-prick diabetes test
본문
15-12-28 14:56
Laser sensor could replace finger-prick diabetes test
A
new laser sensor that monitors blood glucose levels without penetrating the skin
could transform the lives of millions of people living with diabetes, say the
developers at the University of Leeds, UK. The new technology, developed by
Professor Gin Jose and his team, uses a small device with low-powered lasers to
measure blood glucose levels non-invasively. Jose told optics.org, “This could give people a
simpler, pain-free alternative to finger pricking, squeezing drops of blood onto
test strips, and processing the results with portable glucometers. ”Our
technology has continuous monitoring capabilities making it ideal for
development as a wearable device. This could help improve the lives of millions
of people by enabling them to constantly monitor their glucose levels without
the need for an implant or frequent invasive tests.” At the heart of the
glucose sensor is a piece of nano-engineered silica glass, embedded with ions
that fluoresce in infrared light when illuminated by low power laser light. When
the glass is in contact with the users’ skin, the extent of fluorescence signal
varies in relation to the concentration of glucose in their blood. The device
measures the length of time the fluorescence lasts for and uses that to
calculate the glucose level in the bloodstream, a process that takes less than
30s.
Figure 1. Painless : Professor Gin Jose with
the prototype diabetes tester
Benchtop prototype
Professor Jose commented,
“The glass used in our sensors is hardwearing, acting in a similar way as that
used in smartphones. Because of this, our device is more affordable, with lower
running costs than existing self-monitoring systems. "We are currently
piloting a benchtop version in our clinical investigations and we aim to develop
two types of devices for the market. One will be a finger-touch device similar
to a computer mouse. The other will be a wearable version for continuous
monitoring. An EPSRC-funded ￡1.4 million pilot manufacturing facility at Leeds
for scale-up is scheduled to be ready by 2016.” The results of a pilot
clinical study, carried out at the Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and
Metabolic Medicine supervised by Professor Peter Grant, suggest that the new
monitor can perform as well as conventional technologies. More clinical trials
and product optimization are required for regulatory approvals. Professor
Grant, Professor of Medicine at the University of Leeds and Consultant diabetes
specialist, said, “Non-invasive monitoring will be particularly valuable for
people with Type 1 diabetes. Within this group, those attempting precise control
such as pregnant women or people experiencing recurrent hypoglycaemia could find
this technology very useful.”
Figure 2. GlucoSense’s “prototype I”, the
benchtop device
Commercialization
The glucose-sensing
technology is licensed to Glucosense Diagnostics, a spin-out company jointly
formed and funded by the University of Leeds and NetScientific plc, a biomedical
and healthcare technology group specialisingin commercialising transformative
technologies from leading universities and research institutes. Sir Richard
Sykes, Chairman of NetScientific, said, “Diabetes is a growing problem, with the
need for non-invasive glucose monitoring becoming ever more critical. This
technology could help empower millions of people to better manage their diabetes
and minimise interventions with healthcare providers. The ultimate development
of two distinct products - a finger-touch and a wearable - could give people
with different types of diabetes the option of a device that best suits their
lifestyle.” Prof Jose added, “We believe that that the global market for
this capability is currently worth at least ￡6 billion per year. There are about
400,000 people with Type I diabetes in the UK alone. It is possible that our new
device could be deployed effectively against the disease in this group. It is
also possible that device could be used to measure other conditions besides
diabetes; in the longer term we believe we can develop other sensors to identify
stroke risk and other cardio-vascular potential problems. We are applying for
further research funding to develop such applications.”
Figure 3. Ultrafast Laser Plasma
Implantation(ULPI) in silicate glass for photonic chip manufacturing
