Revolutionary sensor to monitor diabetes internally

By Brandie Umar - Executive Director of Content | July 29th, 2010

A breakthrough in diabetes treatment has been announced with the development of a device allowing diabetic blood sugar levels to be measured internally through a pacemaker style sensor.

More than 350 million people worldwide are suffer from diabetes - a condition where the body does not produce or does not respond correctly to insulin causing blood sugar levels to fluctuate. Diabetics need to measure their blood sugar levels regularly to prevent diabetes symptoms and health complications. Currently, most diabetics measure glucose levels through a drop of blood onto a monitoring device and need to repeat the test up to 6 times a day.

The revolutionary sensor would allow long-term monitoring of diabetes and would improve the quality of life or diabetics. As small as a heart pacemaker, the diabetes sensor calculates the levels of oxygen and glucose in the body to produce a blood sugar reading.

Trials for the diabetes sensor implant are due to start on humans in the next year, however the results of a 12 month trial in pigs show high potential for the device which experts hope could be developed further to eventually administer the correct dosage of insulin based upon the blood sugar readings.