So far diabetes patients have had to rely on two methods to keep track of and manage their blood-sugar levels: 1. a tube inserted through their abdomen that could continuously monitor their blood glucose levels, 2. more commonly, a device called the glucometer that could read blood from finger pricks.
These methods fall short in a number of ways. 1. these glucose-monitoring sensors must be calibrated several times a day and changed out every five to seven days. They are also not as accurate as blood readings because they can only read glucose levels in tissue. 2. Glucometers require painful finger pricks several times a day.
Fortunately, a new method has been developed thanks to nanotechnology.
Kyungsuk Yum, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, invented an "injectable, near-infrared optical biosensor nanotube that would read a person's blood glucose constantly and an optical glucose scanner that can access the data collected by nanotube."
Basically, doctors can now inject an internal nanoscale device into the patient that could constantly analyze their blood while displaying the readings onto a hand-held interface.
As a result, Kyungsuk Yum received $100,000 in support from the Texas Medical Research Collaborative grant. His device will help patients better manage their diabetes and improve the quality of their lives.
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