Category: Diabetes

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Diabetes Sensors Wearables

External power supply for Google contact lens

Power efficiency in wearables is key to continuous, accurate monitoring, for both medical and fitness applications.

Google has filed a patent application suggesting  that an external device will power the sensor of its contact lens, and it could be handheld or embedded into a companion wearable.

The application states that “an external reader device or ‘reader’ can radiate radio frequency radiation to power the sensor. The reader may thereby control the operation of the sensing platform by controlling the supply of power to the sensing platform. In some examples, the reader can operate to intermittently interrogate the sensing platform to provide a reading by radiating sufficient radiation to power the sensing platform to obtain a measurement and communicate the result. The reader can also store the sensor results communicated by the sensing platform. In this way, the reader can acquire a series of analyte concentration measurements over time without continuously powering the sensing platform. The reader could also be built into eyeglasses, jewelry headband, head cover , earpiece, [or] other clothing so that it could continually power the lens.”

Le Temps reports that Novartis and Google plan to start testing their smart contact lens for people with presbyopia in 2016.

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Diabetes Monitoring

Real time blood sugar monitoring in the cloud

Google and Sanofi have partnered to develop technology to store and analyze glucose levels in the cloud in real time.  Patients and doctors will be able respond quickly to blood sugar variability,  to help prevent complications such as heart attacks and cancer over time.

Google Life Sciences CEO Andy Conrad believes that “devices that continuously monitor glucose and upload that data to the cloud will enable physicians and patients to move away from the reactive and episodic towards the proactive and preventative.”  ApplySci agrees.

Google describes its life sciences mission as follows:

The life sciences team at Google is focused on helping to move health care from reactive to proactive. Combining expertise from the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, medicine, electrical engineering, computer science, we’re developing new technology tools for physicians that can integrate easily into daily life and help transform the detection, prevention, and management of disease. Current projects in development include a smart contact lens with miniaturized glucose sensor; a nanodiagnostics platform to help with early detection of disease; and Liftware utensils for people with tremor.

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Diabetes

Cheap, disposable, tiny, adhesive glucose monitor

Google Life Sciences ha partnered with DexCom to develop cheap, miniaturized, disposable, bandaid-like continuous glucose sensors.

The devices will incorporate Google’s miniaturized electronics platform with DexCom’s sensors.   The goal is to shrink DexCom’s current monitor, giving patients a less obtrusive way to monitor their condition in real time.

Alphabet has announced that Google Life Sciences, Google X and Google Ventures will all increase their healthcare related initiatives.

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Diabetes

Noninvasive, laser based glucose sensor

Gin Jose and University of Leeds colleagues have developed GlucoSense, a laser based glucose monitor that could eliminate the need for finger pricking.

A finger is placed against a glass window. A low-powered laser beam is projected through the window, into the finger. Surface ions  fluorescence in infrared when exposed to the reflected light. (The more light that hits them, the longer they glow.) By measuring fluorescence duration, the device determines how much of the original laser light was absorbed by glucose, and can determine the amount of glucose in the bloodstream. The process takes 30 seconds.

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Diabetes Monitoring Pregnancy

Smartphone fluid sensors to detect pregnancy, STDs, diabetes

Kort Bremer and Bernhard Roth at the Hanover Centre for Optical Technologies are developing lab-on-a-chip devices for smartphones to monitor blood, urine, saliva, sweat or breath.  This could enable phone based detection and monitoring of pregnancy, STDs, or diabetes, among other applications.

The surface plasmon resonance sensors  detect biomolecular interactions when polarized light strikes an electrically conducting surface at the interface between two media,

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Diabetes Wearables

Integrated insulin sensor, infusion, data, notification system

Medtronic’s MiniMed Connect is placed in a pocket or on a keychain. It reads, displays and transmits data from the company’s implanted pumps.

An external glucose sensor and insulin pump continually deliver insulin through an infusion system under the skin. It can be programmed to shut off automatically if glucose levels reach predefined thresholds.

Glucose and insulin levels are displayed on an app and the on the web.  The device can send texts to family members if glucose is too high or low.

In related news, the company has recently established a partnership with Samsung to develop secure applications for diabetes management. They will create apps optimized to display data from Medtronic’s devices on Samsung’s phones.

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Diabetes Heart Wearables

Heart rate as diabetes marker

Wearables can effectively monitor heart rate.  A recent study shows a new use for this data – predicting diabetes.

Penn State‘s Xiang Gao observed an association between faster heart rates and an increased risk of developing diabetes in 73,357 Chinese adults. In the same population, faster heart rates were also associated with impaired fasting glucose levels and a conversion from impaired fasting glucose levels to diabetes.

According to Gao, “Each additional 10 beats per minute was associated with a 23 percent increased risk of diabetes, similar to the effects of a 3 kilogram per meter square increase in body mass index. We further combined our results with those of 7 previously published studies, including 97,653 subjects, and found a similar association — individuals with a fast heart rate had a 59 percent increased risk of diabetes.”

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Diabetes Wounds

Electrical stimulation to accelerate wound healing

University of Manchester researchers are using electrical stimulation to accelerate wound healing.   This can be particularly useful for lower limb venous and diabetic ulcers, and for those with compromised immune systems.

In a recent study,  1/2 centimeter sized superficial wounds were created on the upper arm of 40 volunteers.  One wound was left to heal normally, while the other was treated with electrical pulses for two weeks.  These pulses stimulated the angiogenesis process, increasing the blood flow to the damaged area.  The result was significantly faster healing.

Ardeshir Bayat and Oxford BioElectronics are now developing devices and dressings based on this technology.   They will stimulate the nervous system to generate nerve impulses to the site of skin repair.

WEARABLE TECH + DIGITAL HEALTH NYC 2015 – JUNE 30 @ NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.  REGISTER HERE.

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Diabetes

Heat sensitive sock detects diabetic circulation issues

Kent State University researchers have developed a fabric that can be turned into a sensor sock for diabetics.

The liquid crystal in the  prototype sock changes color depending on body temperature.  Inflammation, swelling and infection cause an increase in temperature, and poor circulation causes a decrease in temperature.  This is a simple way to detect changes early and avoid significant diabetic complications.

Patients put the socks on in the morning. If they notice a color change, they are prompted to call their doctor.  The most common change would be to blue or green, indicating heat.

WEARABLE TECH + DIGITAL HEALTH NYC 2015 – JUNE 30 @ NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.  REGISTER HERE.

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Diabetes Monitoring Sensors Wearables

Closed-loop glucose monitoring system

GlucoSitter by DreaMed Diabetes is an automated, closed loop, artificial pancreas system for controlling glucose levels. It links the glucose sensor with the insulin pump through control algorithms. Glucose sensor data is analyzed and the pump is directed to deliver the correct dose of insulin.

GlucoSitter has been tested  on 220 patients with 15,000 hours of day and night use.  Medtronic will now  incorporate the DreaMed  algorithm in its insulin pumps.

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Diabetes Sensors Wearables

Biosensor patch to manage obesity, diabetes

Mayo Clinic and Gentag have announced the joint development of wireless, disposable patch sensors to monitor and manage obesity and diabetes.  The wearables will communicate with smartphones via a closed-loop diabetes management system.   Other indicators monitored by Gentag patches include heart rate, temperature, hydration, sweat, blood sugar, lactic acid, electrolytes and other biomarkers.  It is unclear how many of these will be included in the Mayo/Gentag patch.  Gentag currently monitors glucose with patches that work with tiny, battery-free sensors implanted under the skin.

Wearable Tech + Digital Health NYC 2015 – June 30 @ New York Academy of Sciences.  Early registration rate available until March 27th.

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Asthma Cancer Data Diabetes Heart Parkinson's

ResearchKit can simplify, improve diagnostics

As a company devoted to improving the human condition through health innovation, ApplySci was delighted to hear yesterday’s ResearchKit announcement.  The framework allows people to easily join health studies, and simplifies the process by bringing research to one’s phone.

ResearchKit’s first tests detect Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma, and breast cancer.  Apple worked with 12 institutions to create the app, including some which will participate in ApplySci’s Wearable Tech + Digital Health NYC 2015 conference.

Apple’s (admirable) goal is to more easily recruit research subjects, and improve accuracy by increasing sample size and diversity.  Data is captured and recorded using iPhone sensors.  Examples include:

  • An iPhone’s microphone can detect tiny voice  fluctuations that may indicate Parkinson’s disease.
  • An iPhone’s screen can detect tapping inconsistencies associated with disease.
  • An iPhone accelerometer can compare one’s gait and balance against a healthy person’s speed and posture.

Users control their own data, and decide if, how, and when to share it.   Apple will not have access to it.  The company hopes that external developers will soon dramatically increase the number of tests available.

Wearable Tech + Digital Health NYC 2015 – June 30 @ New York Academy of Sciences .  Early registration rate available until March 27th.