Update: Noninvasive Glucose Monitoring

Update: Noninvasive Glucose Monitoring

UPDATE: NONINVASIVE GLUCOSE
MONITORING

Arriving in the 1960s,
the home blood glucose monitor was a tremendous advance over urinalysis. Reasonably
instantaneous glucose measurement was now possible, and "tight control"
could now take place. But improvements since then have been incremental; you
still need to draw a drop of blood. However minor, blood glucose testing still
requires the need to prick yourself with a sharp object.
For thirty years, people have dreamed
of a noninvasive glucose monitor, some device that would read blood sugar levels
without self-inflicted pain. It hasn't happened yet.
Recognizing there are millions of dollars
spent every year on blood glucose monitoring, a number of companies have tried
to develop a monitor that would produce a reliable reading without the need
to bleed. A number of different techniques have been tried, and there have been
many failures. Some have produced litigation. Meanwhile, we bleed, drop by drop.
The demand for a "stick-free"
glucose monitoring device will continue until it is fulfilled. Different companies
will continue trying, and eventually one will succeed. When the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) is satisfied that a new monitor works as promised,
and that its results are within accepted standards for reliability, it will
be approved, and we will see it on the market. Until then, there will be updates
like this one. So what's on the immediate horizon?
The most promising new development appears
to be the Glucowatch, produced by Cygnus, Inc., of Redwood City, California.
The Glucowatch system uses a sensor on the wrist (the Glucowatch), and a replaceable
sensing "patch" (the Autosensor). Cygnus anticipates filing for FDA
approval later this year.
Bioject Medical, of Portland, Oregon
(not to be confused with Biocontrol, whose early machine was rejected by the
FDA), in partnership with Elan Corporation, has developed a similar "watch"
type machine, but one that uses different chemical and mechanical principles.
They have not yet filed for FDA approval.
While the above machines would be worn
on the body, and would provide more-or-less continuous readings, another set
of monitors utilize infrared, or near-infrared, spectroscopy, to read and measure
blood glucose. Biocontrol and Futrex (the Dream Beam), two early competitors,
employed this technology, as does a prototype from CME Telemetrix, of Waterloo,
Ontario, Canada.
There are many more. While these companies
and their competitors sort out issues of accuracy, reliability, and cost, several
others are pursuing new uses for pre-existing technology. These are the "semi-invasive"
glucose monitors, worn like an insulin pump, providing continuous readings.
Insulin pump manufacturer MiniMed, of Sylmar, California, filed for FDA approval
of such a semi-invasive device in December of 1997. Several other companies
are working on similar machines at this time.
The future will bring things we have
not imagined: self-adjusting insulin pumps, noninvasive meters with continuous
readout and hypoglycemia alarms... It won't be long now.