Finger sticks have become an accepted way of life for many people with diabetes, but many researchers are looking to change that.
The problem? Finding a less intrusive, yet equally accurate, way to monitor blood sugar levels has proven to be a tall task. In the last six months, we have reported on various new blood sugar-reading technologies under development, including eye scans and under-the-skin sensors. However, a recent article from the magazine Diabetes Forecast says that scientists are trying to develop a way to measure blood sugar levels by analyzing your breath.
University of California-Irvine scientist Pietro Galassetti, MD, PHD, is working with a grant from the American Diabetes Association to try and make the breath test a reality. Before current glucose monitors were developed, smelling the breath of diabetics was one way people could informally test for blood sugar problems.
Now, Galassetti is using technology originally designed to identify chemicals in the atmosphere. He is also working to develop an algorithm to make sense of the data collected from such breath tests. Such an algorithm is needed to be able to provide blood sugar readings from the data.
However, even if everything goes as planned, breath-test monitors are still a long way off. If successful, Galassetti hopes that the private sector can refine the technology and bring it to market within the next 20 years.
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