We have come painfully close to a 'non-invasive' BG monitor (or even better CGM) once or twice before, but it is good to see that the search continues. To be honest the breathalyser-style BG monitor (which still uses a single-use 'strip') interests me less than Smart Insulin, which I think is probably my most favouritest 'wildest tech fantasy come true' product of all time ever - see here.
"A team at North Carolina State University believes so. Prof Zhen Gu and his team are working on a couple of different systems which may achieve this ideal – effectively creating an artificial replacement to the beta cells in the islets of the pancreas, which would normally release insulin to counter high glucose levels.
"Our overall aim is to create 'smart delivery' systems for insulin provision," says Gu. "What I mean by that is that insulin is delivered at the right time, via a safe approach – avoiding too much or not enough dosage – and in a way which requires only small formulations."
One of the team's ideas in development is an injectable nanoscale sensory network, announcing earlier this year that such a system maintained normal blood sugar levels for up to 10 days in type 1 diabetic mice. The "nano-network" degrades to release insulin when glucose levels are high and the researchers are currently trying to optimise it to respond as quickly as pancreatic islet cells do naturally in the body, and to make it more biocompatible with human tissue."
And wouldn't you know it those pesky diabetic mice have beaten us to it again.
Full article is here:
TheGuardian.com - Nanomedicines set to revolutionise the treatment of diabetes
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