New invention: Measuring blood sugar without pain

'No one needs to suffer pain, even if it points to a finger tip . ' Based on that idea, an infrared ray meter was built. Only 10 seconds have results and no pain . eh

Instead of having to prick a finger to draw blood like ever, Hong Kong scientists have successfully built and tested a new medical device to measure blood sugar levels without causing pain. The size of a mobile phone, this device emits a weak infrared ray through the skin on the finger to detect and measure blood sugar in diabetic patients .

This device is used to detect glucose in the blood, even a small amount.

Regarding the principle of equipment operation, Professor Joanne Chung, of the Nursing Department of the University of Hong Kong, explains: 'When you fly to Hong Kong, you will see there are heat detectors when you are doing Customs procedures for entry. In principle, those heat detectors are similar to our invention. '

A group of 28 experts - including doctors, nurses, engineers, computer experts, and mathematicians from Australia - have worked hard with scientists in Hong Kong for the past 4 years. to research and manufacture this device.

The last five clinical trials showed that the device achieved an 85% accuracy level. This new medical product won a gold medal at the Inventing Exhibition in Geneva, Switzerland, in April and will be sold in the market within a year.

'No one needs to suffer pain, even if it points to the tip of a finger'

This invention will be particularly useful for blood sugar testing in people with diabetes.

Diabetes is a disease that arises from the fact that the pancreas produces too little or no insulin - which controls the amount of sugar in the body. Without the ability to store sugar, the patient loses a major energy source of the body and is at risk of cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, nerve damage, blindness and other eye diseases.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 180 million people worldwide have diabetes and this number will more than double by 2030. In 2005, 1.1 million people died from this disease.

For decades, doctors have monitored patients' blood sugar with conventional devices, where they had to put a patient's fingertip to take blood, sometimes several times a day. Although the accuracy level is 80 - 85%, such testing process is considered to be incomplete.

Professor Chung said: 'In terms of nursing, everyone has the right to not suffer any pain, even if it is only a stain on the fingertips'.

Minh Quang

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In the picture: Laboratory blood analysis (Photo: Javno)