Tags:
Journalism of Courage
ASU engineers and clinicians at Mayo Clinic in Arizona are developing a new type of self-monitoring blood glucose sensor that could help people with diabetes.
Many people with diabetes are tasked with the difficulty of managing their blood glucose levels.
It is recommended that they monitor their own glucose levels,but current monitoring devices typically require patients to perform the painful task of pricking their finger to draw blood for a test sample and many patients must do it several times each day.
The new sensor would enable people to draw tear fluid from their eyes to get a glucose-level test sample.
Glucose in tear fluid may give an indication of glucose levels in the blood as accurately as a test using a blood sample,the researchers said.
This new technology might encourage patients to check their blood sugars more often,which could lead to better control of their diabetes by a simple touch to the eye, said Jeffrey T. LaBelle,the designer of the device technology.
