Scientists and researchers at MIT's Spectroscopy Laboratory are working on a device that uses light to measure type 1 diabetic’s glucose levels instead of blood. A former/late MIT professor Michael Feld first envisioned this device. After Felds, passing two graduate students Chae-Ryon Kong and Ishan Barman have taken over the vision and are developing a Raman spectroscopy machine. The machine is about the size of a small lap top computer. There hope is that one day these machines will be found in the homes of diabetics and the finger stick equipment will be all but a distant memory.
The device uses a near-infrared light. “It identifies chemical compounds based on the frequency of vibrations of the bonds holding the molecule together. The technique can reveal glucose levels by simply scanning a patient's arm or finger with the device.”
There is still some work to be done before it is ready for the public. One of the biggest issues the researchers found was that the light did not measure far enough into the blood stream so an accurate reading was not obtainable. This device has been in the development phases for nearly 15 years and with a little luck, it could be on the market within a reasonable amount of time. Human clinical studies are set to stat this fall.
Sources: MIT
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