On the horizon: better glucose testing.Scientists are working to develop more convenient and less painful ways for people with diabetes to monitor their blood glucose levels blood glucose level, n level of glu-cose in the bloodstream, normally about 70 to 115 mg/dL after fasting overnight. Higher levels may indicate diseases such as diabetes mellitus. . Potential noninvasive methods include: (1) shining a beam of light onto the skin or through body tissues; (2) measuring the energy rays (infrared radiation) emitted by the body; (3) applying radio waves Radio waves Electromagnetic energy of the frequency range corresponding to that used in radio communications, usually 10,000 cycles per second to 300 billion cycles per second. to the fingertips "Fingertips" is a 1963 number-one hit single recorded live by "Little" Stevie Wonder for Motown's Tamla label. Wonder's first hit single, "Fingertips" was the first live, non-studio recording to reach number-one on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the United States. ; (4) using ultrasound; and (5) checking the thickness (also called the viscosity) of fluids in tissues underneath the skin. One research team--consisting of physicists, electrical and computer engineers, chemists, and physicians at three universities--is developing a new glucose monitor worn like a skinpatch. The noninvasive method utilizes a light beam to continuously measure glucose levels in fluids just underneath the skin. An experimental handheld device designed to measure blood glucose levels is based on the body's heat emissions. Testing is under way at the University of Connecticut Health Center The University of Connecticut Health Center is located on the site of the old O'Meara farms in the Farmington Heights section of Farmington, Connecticut. It is home to the University of Connecticut's schools of medicine, dental medicine, and graduate school in biomedical science. . To achieve the reading, the device is placed in the ear, like an ear thermometer, for 10 seconds. Cygnus, Inc.'s GlucoWatch G2[R] Biographer is approved to detect glucose level trends in people with diabetes. The prescription device, which looks like a wrist watch, pulls fluid from the skin using a low electric current and then measures the glucose in the fluid. It must be used with conventional glucose monitoring glucose monitoring Lab medicine The periodic evaluation of any analyte abnormal in Pts with DM, to assess short and long-term control with antiglycemic agents. See Glucose, Glycated hemoglobin. of blood samples, however. The first patent for a blood glucose blood glucose Diabetology The principal sugar produced by the body from food–especially carbohydrates, but also from proteins and fats; glucose is the body's major source of energy, is transported to cells via the circulation and used by cells in the presence meter was issued in 1971. |
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