Photonic Advancements in Diabetic Care: Non-Invasive Light-based Method Redefines Blood Glucose Monitoring!
Photo from https://www.healthline.com/diabetesmine/non-invasive-diabetes-technology
Say goodbye to the daily finger pricks and constant pain associated with blood sugar monitoring! In a groundbreaking development published in the Journal of Biomedical Optics, a team of researchers led by Tomoya Nakazawa from Hamamatsu Photonics in Japan introduced a new methodology that utilizes light to track blood sugar levels, offering a painless and convenient alternative for individuals with diabetes.
Diabetes is a long-term, metabolic condition that requires individuals to regularly monitor their blood glucose levels and maintain stable levels for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, with Type 1 diabetes requiring the additional administering of insulin in regular intervals. Currently, the most prevalent blood glucose monitoring methods consist of invasive procedures, such as the usage of a finger-pricking blood meter to draw blood samples. These methods can be painful and terribly inconvenient for patients, leading to a constant demand for less invasive, simpler alternatives. In recent research studies, near-infrared light (NIR) has been proven effective, becoming a new attractive alternative due to its affordability, accessibility, and compatibility with existing smartphone and smartwatch technology— many of these devices already utilize NIR sensors to measure other vital signs, such as heart rate and blood oxygen levels.
However, a key challenge in utilizing this new method is the difficulty in distinguishing glucose from other components present in the bloodstream, such as lipids and proteins, when relying solely on scans with near-infrared light. An additional adjustment was to base the new blood glucose level index on phase delay measurements between different components of the blood, where it had been discovered that the phase delay between oxyhemoglobin (HbO2) and deoxyhemoglobin (Hb) signals closely correlates with the degree of oxygen consumption during each cardiac cycle, providing an accurate measurement of one’s metabolism and blood glucose levels.
While further clinical tests on diabetic individuals are still pending, the new metabolic index proves to be promising as a noninvasive method for estimating blood glucose levels. The proposed technique can be further implemented in existing smart devices with pulse oximetry capabilities in the future, making it cost-effective, battery-saving, and simple to use in comparison to other blood glucose monitoring techniques currently offered on the market!
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