Diabetes is an ongoing disease that requires constant monitoring.
What does that look like? Constant pricking, poking, and prodding of the skin to better monitor blood glucose levels.
Science has already made an effort to reduce this uncomfortable task by creating a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device. The most common CGM device on the market, today, is a subcutaneous needle that you can insert under the skin and leave there for a week. For the most part, it has provided relief to many diabetics since they only have to stick themselves with needles once a week.
The problem with this kind of CGM device, though, is that it is not always accurate. They need to be calibrated twice a day and can accidentally be pulled out without notice. They also sometimes pose a hygiene issue as they remain inserted under a bandaid-like cloth for a week at a time.
Though this CGM device has made gains in the world of diabetes, some people still didn’t think it was good enough.
So, a group of researchers from the University of California in Santa Barbara has set out to make something that would eliminate needles altogether.
They are currently creating a diabetes patch.
In order to do this, they have pulled together brains from engineering, chemistry and biology fields.
The patch, they say, will be made up of a chemical-laden gel that will monitor blood glucose through a chemical reaction. They hope to add a layer of insulin that can be administered in direct response to glucose levels.
They are currently testing their product to make sure that it can both accurately read glucose levels and administer insulin. They suspect that within a year it will be ready to submit to the FDA.
Very exciting stuff is happening in the world of research!
[expand title=”References“]
Daily Nexus. URL Link. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
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