Diabetics may find it hard trying to monitor and check their blood sugar levels regularly by taking out blood from their fingertips. Some may even shun or avoid the process just because it can be quite uncomfortable. But now scientists have successfully developed a means to test blood sugar levels in a non-invasive way. They have developed an electrochemical sensor device that can measure blood sugar levels using a person’s tear drops.
Diabetes has become a common worldwide disease afflicting 5 percent of the world’s population. With the growing problem of obesity, the disease can only be expected to increase further. It is important for people with diabetes to constantly monitor their blood sugar levels. But the current method of taking blood samples by pricking the finger is something that is not easy for many diabetics. The painful method can be enough to discourage a lot of diabetics from properly monitoring their disease.
And because of this concern, Mark Meyerhoff and his colleagues went on to develop a new and pain-free device that can be used to measure blood sugar levels. But this time the method will use tear drops for testing. Glucose levels found I tear drops are considered as closely related to a persons blood sugar levels. Measuring tear glucose levels can also provide an accurate reflection of a person’s blood sugar levels.
Tests were conducted to ensure the accuracy of measuring tear glucose levels and its connection with blood sugar levels. The scientists first tested the new method on laboratory rabbits.
Their study showed that glucose levels in tears track the amounts of glucose that is found in the blood. “Thus, it may be possible to measure tear glucose levels multiple times per day to monitor blood glucose changes without the potential pain from the repeated invasive blood drawing method,” according to researchers. The report of the researchers’ work is published in the ACS journal Analytical Chemistry.
Source: American Chemical Society (2011, November 9). Tear drops may rival blood drops in testing blood sugar in diabetes. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 11, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111109111532.htm
Tags: blood glucose levels, blood sugar testing, Diabetes News, tear drop glucose levels, tear drop glucose testing, tear drops