MIT researchers out there are busy working to be able to determine how much sugar is in your blood by just shining a light on your skin. The device is a glucose-monitoring device for diabetes patients that might help do away with finger pricks. The device is able to scan the user’s arm or finger under a near-infrared light, which penetrates about half a millimeter, reaching the interstitial fluid surrounding skin cells, but not the blood itself. The researchers managed to come up with an algorithm to predict blood glucose based on measurements of interstitial fluid glucose. They’ve currently done a small study on human volunteers, and they’re planning another study this fall. If it’s technology that involves human beings shedding less blood (however small amounts), hopefully it manages to get developed into an actual product in the end.
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