Scientists Develop Pain-Free Blood Sugar Test For Diabetics
image credit-diabetes co uk
Australian scientists say they have developed the “holy grail” of blood sugar testing for diabetics, a non-invasive strip that checks glucose levels via saliva.
Diabetic patients have to get their blood sugar checked regularly because its level can be life threatening if its level is high. But the method of testing that is adopted, there is also pain in it . For diabetics, managing their blood sugar levels typically means pricking their fingers multiple times a day with a lancet and then placing a drop of blood on a testing strip. Understandably, some diabetes sufferers avoid the painful process by minimizing their tests.
However, this latest test works by embedding an enzyme that detects glucose into a transistor that can then transmit the presence of glucose, according to Paul Dastoor, Professor of Physics at the University of Newcastle in Australia, who led the team that created it.
Since the electronic materials in the transistor are inks, the test can be made through printing at a low cost, Dastoor said.
“The holy grail of glucose testing has been something that is non-invasive,” said Dastoor.
Funding of $6.3 million has been secured from the Australian government to produce the test kit. But this can be done only when the test kit has passed the clinical trial.
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