Just about any diabetic will tell you pinpricks are a painfully annoying but ever-present part of managing the disease. Applied Nanodetectors Ltd. (Middlesex, UK) and the Centre for Process Innovation in the UK are working on developing a breath testing device that may be able to accurately estimate the levels of glucose in the plasma.
The glucose “breathalyzer” would measure concentrations of volatile organic compounds exhaled into the device using printed sensors that can be made cheap enough for mass adoption.
James Johnstone, Business Manager at CPI said, “Applied Nanodetectors Ltd is a pioneering company and we are delighted to be working with them in this important step to take their innovative technology closer to market. The project evaluated the suitability of a range of gases for monitoring VOC’s and benchmarked their performance against existing technology. We were also able to optimise sensor performance. The incorporation of a low cost, printed glucose sensor offers great potential for the commercialisation of a multi-use and environmentally friendly breathalyser device for daily diabetic management. Regular self monitoring would lead to more effective patient treatment, a reduction in healthcare costs and a shift to more proactive point-of-care treatments.”
Source: Centre for Process Innovation…