
Needle-Free Diabetes? European MedTech Inventions which Painlessly Measure Blood Glucose!
Will the daily routine of finger pricking to monitor blood glucose levels finally come to an end for the millions worldwide living with diabetes?
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease that affects over 422 million people worldwide. It is the major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attack and stroke. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers it an epidemic and predicts it will become the 7th biggest cause of death worldwide by 2030.
To monitor blood glucose levels, millions of diabetics have to test their blood sugar close to 10 times a day by pricking their finger with a lancet to obtain a small blood sample. But some companies in Europe are trying to find a pain-free alternative that removes the need for needles – here are three startups revolutionizing blood sugar testing.
GlucoSense (London, UK)
GlucoSense is a spin-out of the University of Leeds funded by NetScientific that is developing a non-invasive device based on photonics technology. Its basic component is a nano-engineered silica glass with ions that fluoresce in the infrared region when stimulated by a low power laser.
When the glass is in contact with the user’s skin, the reflected fluorescence signal varies based on the concentration of glucose in their blood and one can acquire the glucose concentration measurement in less than 30 seconds.
NovioSense (Nijmegen, the Netherlands)
NovioSense is a Dutch startup working on an implantable glucose sensor that uses tear fluid to measure glucose levels. The device consists of a 15 mm-long metal coil coated with a hydrophilic gel. Its flexibl
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