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Painful Glucose Pricks, Begone: Non-invasive method for Measuring Glucose Levels in Diabetes Patients

If you are afraid of needles, becoming a diabetic has the extra added horror of facing a needle everyday for the rest of your life...or until the benefits of your gastric bypass kicks in. However in an engineering feat of unprecedented proportions, Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems IMS in Duisburg is revealing a new non-invasive diagnostic system that would completely eliminate the constant pricks and pain.

The underlying concept is a biosensor that is located on the patient's body. It is also able to measure glucose levels continuously using tissue fluids other than blood, such as in sweat or tears. The biosensor transmits the data via a wireless interface, for example to a mobile receiver. Thus, the patient can keep a steady eye on his or her glucose level.

"In the past, you used to need a circuit board the size of a half-sheet of paper," says Tom Zimmermann, business unit manager at IMS "And you also had to have a driver. But even these things are no longer necessary with our new sensor."

Since it can be manufactured so cost-effectively, it is best suited for mass production. The sensor is able to send and receive data packages, but it can also be supplied with power through radio frequency. And the biochip could control an implanted miniature pump that, based on the glucose value measured, indicates the precise amount of insulin to administer.

Researchers are currently finding ways to develop a system in which insulin can be administered into the body without injection needles .

Zimmermann notes:

"It's our hope that we will ultimately integrate a complete diagnostic system of glucose measuring and insulin injecting without patients having to worry about the cumbersome pricks, prods and pokes."