Noninvasive Device Measures Glucose Levels in Ear

A study has found that a handheld device inserted into the ear for about 10 seconds can measure glucose levels with clinically acceptable accuracy. The study was published in the December 2002 issue of Diabetes Care.

The new method and instrument are based on the discovery that natural mid-infrared body emissions change, depending on the glucose concentration of the tissue. The patented device isolates and measures glucose levels from the eardrum by using the body's natural heat emission, averting the need for drawing blood.

"We are utilizing a specific spectral signature of glucose emission in a thermal energy range called mid-infrared, as opposed to others who have attempted to infer glucose levels from measurements in an energy range called near-infrared,” said Carl Malchoff, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor, division of endocrinology and metabolism, University of Connecticut Health Center (Farmington, CT, USA), who conducted the study with Kamal Shoukri, M.D., an assistant professor in the same division.

The monitor is being commercialized by Infratec, Inc. (Wilton, CT, USA), whose founder and president, Janusz Buchert, Ph.D., developed the device. "Infratec's goal is to commercialize a portable, cell phone sized device that will give a direct readout of the person's glucose level without need of a blood sample,” noted Julian Landau, CEO of Infratec.




Related Links:
University of Connecticut Health Center