Scientists at University of Bath in the UK have developed and successfully tested an electronic patch capable of measuring glucose in the interstitial fluid without actually penetrating the skin. The transdermal patch features a tiny electronic pixel array made either via graphene-based thin-film or screen printing techniques. The patch is able to essentially suck (electroosmotic extraction) tiny amounts of glucose through the hair follicles and onto the array. The array then uses electric current to measure the amount of glucose in the drawn sample.
There is no calibration that’s required for the device, but we’ll have to see whether the readings it gathers accurately represent blood glucose levels within the body when measured using blood draws. Moreover, there’s still work to be done to reduce the price of the technology, but that will certainly happen if the underlying technology can get rid the world of pricking consumer glucometers.
Professor Richard Guy, one of the researchers on the study said, “A non-invasive – that is, needle-less – method to monitor blood sugar has proven a difficult goal to attain. 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.”