Watch-like device will check sugar painlessly

    ADA ‘99 on line Watch-like device will check body’s blood sugar levels painlessly - no needle prick needed for experimental home diabetes monotoring check

    An experimental device will enable people with diabetes to check their glucose levels painlessly and has been shown to be as effective as current techniques that requirepricking the finger to obtain blood samples, according to a report presnted here today.
    - This new technique enables users to check their glucose levels at about 20-minute intervals throughout the day - without doing anything once they put it on and without feeling anything other than a tingling sensation, reported Satish Garg MD and director of adult diabetes program at the Univ of Colorado Health Science Center in Denvas, ’and anything that makes it easier to do is likely to increase patient compliance with the recommendations and then it will improve diabetes control, secondarly leading to reduced complications’, he said.

    Depending on the type and the severity of the diabetes, people with diabetes may be advised to check their blood glucose levels up to 5 times a day, and to modify their diet, exercise and medications depending on the blood glucose level results.

New technique compared with old
    The new device, called GlucoWatch biographer, is based on a technique called reverse iontophoresis, which extracts interstitial fluid from the skin. The fluid is absorped by a small disposable pad, called Auto Sensor, just underneath the monitor watch. The glucose levels in the fluid is then measured electrochemically. The process requires applying a small leectric current to the skin - using AAA battery - whenver glucose levels are to be measured.

    - The Colorado study involved 39 individuals with diabetes average age 31 who had diabetes for an average of 18 years. Thusa all had extensive experience with self-monitorering of blood glucose. Each wore two of the devices on their forearm. They must be placed with the sensor on the middle of the inner arm, at least 5 cm from the wrist or elbow joint, to avoid excess hair or movement. For the first part of the sudy, they remained at the clinic for 12 hrs. After the first 3 hours, participants also checked their glucose levels twice an hour using a Hemcue, a standard blood glucose monitoring device. In addition, 11 participants wore the device for 3 days at home and self-monitored with a OneTouch, a home blood glucose monitor.

    - This study confirms the utility of the Glucwatch, according to Dr Garg, and results showed that it gave glucose values that wre nearly identical to those obtained using two blood glucose monitors. The product is to be approved by the FDA in USA and is not likely to be commerciable available for a yearor more. The GlucoWatch is expected to sell for about 300 US dollar and the disposable Auto-Sensor pads, changed once a day, for about US dollar 4.

This reports has been sent with economical sponsoring from Roche Diagnostics.

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