The race to develop a blood glucose skin patch monitor speeds up with UCSD pilot

Are thin-film/adhesive patch glucose monitors the thing this year? University of California San Diego Health (UCSD Health)  opened earlier this month a clinical trial of their self-adhesive ‘tattoo’ type glucose monitor. This monitor measures the glucose present in perspiration through two electrodes embedded in the thin adhesive film that apply a small amount of electrical current to make glucose molecules in the skin rise. The clinical trial sampling people with Types 1 and 2 diabetes ages 18-60 with fasting plasma glucose (FPG) > 126 mg/dL, or hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) > 6.5%. Those in the trial will be comparing their readings from the thin film monitor with a standard glucometer through June 2019. Patients wearing the sensors will receive a minimum of two doses of pilocarpine gel to induce sweat, at fasting and at time points ranging between 15 to 200 minutes post meal. Neither the article nor the clinical trial explain the reading process.

In a Mobihealthnews interview with Patrick Mercier, codirector of UCSD’s Center for Wearable Sensors, the sensor can be produced for under $1, comparable to a blood glucose test strip.

Tattoo-type sensors and strips made the news about two-three years ago in their early stages of development and now are resurfacing with both trials and investment. Sano received $6 million from Fitbit for its combination of sensor and mobile app. The University of Bath has designed a multi-sensor patch that doesn’t need gel to raise a sweat; it measures interstitial fluid located between cells within the body-hair follicles [TTA 24 Apr]. We are rapidly moving towards less-invasive monitoring systems and better diabetes management.

10 sensor-based telehealth companies

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/biostamp.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]Our First 10 For Friday is what is termed a ‘sensor technology renaissance’ in telehealth, mostly tied to that sensor-equipped device called a smartphone. The ten companies profiled in Bionic.ly, including an ingestible, are:

Sano Intelligence–wearable patch sensor transmitting blood chemistry data such as glucose and potassium

Zephyr Technology–performance shirts in partnership with UnderArmour [TTA 25 Mar]

Cardiio–developed by the MIT Media Lab, it uses changes in skin tone read by an iPhone to measure resting heart rate [TTA 21 Mar]

MC10 (picture left/above)–the Biostamp elastic sensor and sensors used by combat soldiers to measure hydration, temperature, impact and other body indicators [TTA 22 Feb] (more…)