Category: Diabetes

Categories
Diabetes Monitoring

Non-invasive diabetes monitoring through breath analysis

http://www.news.pitt.edu/news/diabetes-breathalyzer

University of Pittsburgh professor Alexander Star, Dan Sorescu of the National Energy Technology Laboratory, and graduate student Mengning Ding have demonstrated sensor technology that could simplify the diagnosis and monitoring of diabetes through breath analysis alone.

The researchers used a “sol-gel approach,” a method for using small molecules (often on a nanoscale level) to produce solid materials. The team combined titanium dioxide with carbon nanotubes, which acted as “skewers” to hold the particles together.  This method effectively combined the electrical properties of the tubes with the light-illuminating powers of the titanium dioxide. They then created the sensor device by using these materials as an electrical semiconductor, measuring its electrical resistance (the sensor’s signal).

The ability to diagnose and monitor diabetes through cheaper, noninvasive methods could completely change the paradigm of self-monitoring.

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Diabetes Heart Sensors Ultrasound

Medical device data shared via ultrasound, real-time treatment enabled

http://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2013/05/0570.html

Navy sonar technology is being miniaturized by University at Buffalo professor Tommaso Melodia to be applied inside the human body to treat diseases like diabetes and heart failure in real time.

A network of wireless body sensors that use ultrasounds could be used to wirelessly share information between medical devices implanted in or worn by diabetic/heart failure patients.

Previously, researchers focused on linking sensors together via electromagnetic radio frequency waves – the same type used in cellular phones, GPS and wireless devices. Radio waves can be effective, but they generate heat and require large amounts of energy to propagate through skin, muscle and tissue.  Ultrasound may be a more efficient way to share information as 65 percent of the body is composed of water.  This suggests that medical devices, such as a pacemaker and a blood oxygen level monitor, could communicate more effectively via ultrasounds compared to radio waves.

Melodia highlights the technology’s use in diabetes patients, where wireless blood glucose sensors could be connected to implantable insulin pumps. The sensors would monitor the blood and, via the pumps, control the dosage of insulin as needed in real time.

Categories
Diabetes Sensors

Nanotube sensor detects glucose in saliva

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/514456/carbon-nanotube-sensor-detects-glucose-in-saliva/

A team led by Mitchell Lerner at the University of Pennsylvania has developed a carbon nanotube based transistor that can detect glucose levels in body fluids, including saliva. The nanotubes are coated with molecules of pyrene-1-boronic acid, which makes them highly sensitive for glucose detection. When exposed to glucose, the nanotube transistor’s current-voltage curve changes, and that change can be measured to indicate the glucose concentration.

Categories
Diabetes Monitoring

A “bionic pancreas” for diabetes management

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/riva-greenberg/diabetes-clinical-trial_b_3110140.html

The bionic pancreas consists of three pieces of hardware. There’s an iPhone with an app that contains the system’s control software and algorithm and a continuous glucose monitor (CGM).

The CGM’s sensor/transmitter, worn under the skin, streams glucose (blood sugar) data to two connected infusion pumps. One delivers insulin to lower blood sugar and one delivers glucagon to raise it. Based on glucose levels transmitted every five minutes from the CGM, the app determines and dispatches how much insulin or glucagon should be delivered to maintain ideal blood sugar levels.

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Diabetes mHealth Monitoring Sensors

Sensors detect diabetic foot ulcers early

Two new sensor-based early detection tools for diabetic foot ulcers are being developed.

http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/383644/The-alarm-that-can-save-limbs

Orpyx Medical Technologies has developed a wristwatch and shoe insert.  An insole is designed to support the foot, with three separate foam layers. Eight tiny electronic sensors are packed in the top of the insole so that they rest against thesurface of the foot once the shoe has been put on. These sensors are programmed to detect when pressure exceeds predetermined levels at certain points of the foot that are most susceptible to ulcers. Once they do, they wirelessly transmit a warning to the watch, which immediately sounds an alert.

http://www.podimetrics.com

Cambridge based Podimetrics is developing a home-monitoring bath mat with sensors that record changes in blood flow patterns when a diabetic patient steps on the mat. The sensors scan the foot to collect data about blood flow and send the data to the cloud to be stored and analyzed. The company’s algorithms look at that data in two ways: longitudinally over time and comparatively between the left and right foot to detect patterns that may indicate the presence of a developing ulcer. When the algorithms detect a pre-ulcer, an alert is sent to the patient and his doctor prompting an intervention early on.

Categories
Apps Diabetes mHealth Monitoring

Self tracking for diabetes — more efficient, still complicated

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/04/the-diabetics-paradox/274507/

Diabetes patients have been self monitoring for years.  Advances in mHealth have made the process more efficient, though still complicated.

The iPhone can improve the functionality of glucometers; last month the FDA approved LifeScan’s VerioSync glucometer; the device automatically sends blood sugar levels to an iPhone via Bluetooth (fewer steps mean fewer mistakes and less anxiety). The iBGStar is a similar patient-centric tool.

The ultimate goal is a non-invasive glucose monitor, which will allow patients to check their blood levels without drawing blood. We aren’t there yet.  When such devices can connect to automatic insulin pumps, which adminster insulin into a patient’s bloodstream subcutaneously through an open line rather than an injection, some of the hassle and stigma of diabetes may be lessened.

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Apps Diabetes Heart mHealth Monitoring Sensors Sleep

A move toward aggregating health data from various devices and apps

http://gigaom.com/2013/03/15/tictrac-emerges-to-help-make-health-tracking-more-mainstream/

It seems that every day a new app or device promising the ultimate in health or fitness monitoring enters the market.  A startup has created a personal analytics dashboard which gives people a big picture view of their own aggregated data and underlying patterns, helping them make sense of the numbers.

Categories
Diabetes

The Relationship of Sugar to Population-Level Diabetes Prevalence

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0057873

Increased sugar consumption leads to increased diabetes prevalence. One solution is to reduce sugar consumption, but this is difficult to implement in a western diet. It is best to combine the consumption of  high fiber foods such as oatmeal, oat bran, beans and legumes with the consumption of high sugar foods.