Diabetes is one of the fastest growing health threats in the world and a new wearable wants to make monitoring the disease much easier.
Korean researchers have invented a patch that sits on the wrist of the sufferer to monitor blood levels using sweat. At the moment, sufferers have to take blood samples or wear a patch under the skin to keep on top of the disease.
This new patch is also capable of delivering the diabetes drug metformin through the skin with microneedles.
Hyunjae Lee, author of the study at Seoul National University, said: “Diabetics are reluctant to monitor their blood glucose levels because of the painful blood-gathering process.
“We highly focused on a noninvasive monitoring and therapy system for diabetics.”
Sweat problems
The patch uses graphene to keep the wearable thin and flexible as well as capable of transmitting electricity. It has a variety of sensors on board that will monitor your sweat glucose levels, pH, temperature and your humidity.
There are still some issues to work through, as, in its current form, the patch may not be as effective on people who sweat a lot. It’s also just an experimental idea for now, so don’t expect it to hit the market anytime soon.
It sounds similar to GlucoWatch, a watch-like device that measured blood sugar levels, that was a financial failure. However, the patch is less intrusive, and that alone might help it to be more successful.
Source: techradar.com
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I've had diabetes for 20+ years and I wouldn't say pricking your finger with a tiny needle can be described as "painful". Still, it is an inconvenience to carry a glucometer around everywhere, so this idea sounds pretty good.
I guess the question is how financially feasible it is (most innovations related to treating diabetes seem to get nowhere) and how practical it is. For all their drawbacks traditional glucometers and insulin pens are quite versatile and sturdy. You can take them camping, a kid can bring them to school, etc. Insulin pumps are expensive and you need to be careful while wearing them and if you practice sports chances are you need to take it off.
This patch will have to deal with that, like – can I go swimming with it? Will it measure my blood sugar properly while I'm jogging, thus sweating more? Got my fingers crossed but it seems this is a long, long way off.