Contact lenses may replace finger-prick tests in diabetes
- Special contact lenses may allow diabetes sufferers to measure their blood glucose levels on demand, reducing the risk of diabetes-related complications
- Unlike current glucose monitors, the lenses would be painless and easy to use
- The lenses may also be able to send vital information to patients’ smartphones
- The same technology could be used to track drug use and detect early cancers
Alexandra Thompson Health Reporter For Mailonline
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Invasive prick-and-test glucose monitoring may soon be history for diabetes patients.
Sensory contact lenses may allow diabetes sufferers to measure their blood glucose levels without painful skin pricking.
On-demand access to patients’ glucose levels helps to reduce their risk of diabetes-related complications.
Using the same technology that gives smartphones their vivid display, the lenses will be embedded with a sensor, which may be able to transmit vital health information to smartphones once they are fully developed.
The scientists have already used the technology to measure kidney function and it may also be able to track drug use and detect early cancers in the future.
Contact lenses may spell the end of invasive prick-and-test glucose monitoring in diabetes
Most on-demand glucose monitoring systems involve inserting painful electrodes under the skin, which can cause skin irritation or infections.
The contact lenses would be painless, easy to use and invisible, so patients won’t feel self-conscious wearing them.
Lead scientist Dr Gregory Herman, professor of chemical engineering, Oregon State University said: ‘These biosensors probably won’t put blood labs out of business.
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‘But I think that we can do a lot of diagnostics using information that can be extracted from tear drops in the eye.’
The technology was first developed to increase resolution on televisions, smartphones and tablets, while saving power and improving touch-screen sensitivity.
Dr Herman then wanted to apply the technology to medicine, in particular to benefit diabetes patients monitoring their blood glucose levels.
Invasive pricking tests may be replaced by easy to use, pain-free and invisible contact lenses
This comes after an arm patch has also been touted as a solution to finger-prick tests in diabetes patients.
It contains a sensor the size of a £2 coin that reads blood-sugar levels from the cells just below the skin and transmits the data to a smartphone.
THE BURDEN OF DIABETES
Diabetes can be a lifelong burden that causes a patient’s blood sugar levels to rise too high
This affects an estimated 4 million people in the UK
In type 1 diabetes, the immune system destroys cells that produce insulin
In type 2 diabetes, the body doesn’t produce enough insulin or doesn’t react to the insulin it makes
In the UK, around 90 per cent of diabetes patients have type 2
Type 1 patients require lifelong insulin injections, with medication sometimes being necessary for Type 2 sufferers
All diabetes patients are advised to lead healthy lifestyles
Source: NHS Choices
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