Diabetes New affordable portable device allows better disease control

Breakthrough in the management of diabetes?
Researchers have succeeded in developing a new wearable device that can help control diabetes better by monitoring sweat. The development could mean the end for blood tests with painful needle pricks. The device is capable of detecting three specific compounds in sweat and measuring them over a period of one week, without loss of signal integrity.

Researchers at the University of Texas found that the newly developed wearable device can reliably analyze patients' sweat and help manage diabetes. The physicians published the results of their study in the medical journal "Scientific Reports".

In the case of diabetes, the blood sugar levels must be regularly checked by a doctor. A new portable and inexpensive diagnostic device could in the future perform these checks by measuring sweat. (Image: Andrey Popov / fotolia.com)

Sweat test measures cortisol, glucose and interleukin-6
The portable diagnostic biosensor can detect and measure three interconnected compounds. Cortisol, glucose and interleukin-6 can also be detected one week later in a sweat test. To manage and regulate the chronic disease, these markers are particularly important, explains author Professor Shalini Prasad of the University of Texas. "We have created the first portable diagnostic device that can measure these compounds in sweat over a period of up to a week," the experts add.

Stress can lead to prediabetes
When a person is exposed to chronic stress, their cortisol levels increase. The resulting insulin resistance will gradually affect glucose levels, says Prasad. At this point, sufferers may develop so-called prediabetes, which may become Type 2 diabetes. When this happens, there is a state of inflammation in the victim's body. The marker for such inflammation (interleukin-6) indicates whether organs are already affected, explains the expert.

Small amounts of sweat are sufficient for the measurement
According to the scientists, the biomarker measurements are reliable even with a small amount of sweat. One to three microliters are enough, the researchers say. We wanted to create a useful product that does not need tons of sweat, Prasad and colleagues emphasize.

Device measures different molecules in a combinatorial way
It is not enough to recognize only one of the connections. Measuring different molecules in a combinatorial manner and monitoring them over a longer period of time enables physicians to better understand and understand the health history of those affected, study authors explain.

Physicians are currently developing a suitable app for the new biosensor
The portable devices should in the future contain a small transceiver, which sends the measured data to an application installed on a mobile phone (app), says Prasad. With such an app being developed, it is sufficient for users to push a button to request needed information from the device, adds the author.

New device is very cheap
When the concentrations of the compounds are measured every hour over a period of one week, 168 measurements of health data and their changes are made, explains Professor Prasad. This will allow physicians a better overview of the disease and its effects. The new diagnostic device has been developed very cheaply, so the end product will be accessible and affordable for many people. "We have made sure that processes are used that enable mass production at no extra cost," says Prasad. The manufacturing costs are comparable to the costs required for the production of single-use glucose test strips. In other words, the cost of production is only about ten to 15 cents, explains the author. (As)