An ambitious group of Egyptian students has continued working on the GlucoClip project, which won an award from the prestigious Johns Hopkins University earlier this year. The GlucoClip is a non-invasive blood glucose monitor that is intended to remove painful finger sticking from the average day of someone suffering from diabetes.
A diabetic may have to use a lancet to draw blood from their finger multiple times a day for blood glucose measurements, with the constant use of a needle sometimes leading to a build-up of scar tissue and pain or loss of feeling in the fingertip. Unsurprisingly, there are multiple start-ups working on a pain-free solution to this vital procedure.
The GlucoClip utilizes near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to measure glucose levels in the blood. The user of the device simply inserts their finger into the clip and presses a button for a reading to be given on the built-in display, or they can utilize a companion bespoke app on a Bluetooth-connected smartphone. It’s a very simple and quick process that is both painless and needle-free. The NIRS method has multiple applications in numerous fields, with medical diagnostics being one of them.
Winning first place in the Digital Health Track of the 2022 Johns Hopkins Healthcare Design Competition was no mean feat for the GlucoClip team, as there were 120 proposals over the three tracks to be considered, coming from 74 universities spread out over 18 different countries. It seems securing the first prize of US$5,000 has spurred the students into further project development, as it appears there are plans to get GlucoClip to the “global market” once enough research and testing has been carried out.
So far, reports state that a prototype of the non-invasive blood glucose monitor had produced “relatively high accuracy” during a small-scale trial that involved over 100 people. It might be some time yet before the GlucoClip reaches its intended market, but it does offer a ray of hope for the 537 million adults around the world who are coping with diabetes.
This non-invasive glucose monitor, designed by Egyptian students, uses near-infrared spectroscopy to measure blood sugar levels pic.twitter.com/XfrXuaPVKm
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 9, 2022
Source(s)
@Reuters & American University in Cairo (1/2) & John Hopkins & @jhu_cbid & IDF Diabetes Atlas