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Know your sugar levels without needle pricking

Keeping tab of your blood glucose without giving a blood sample may be the answer for thousands of people who hate being pricked for a diabetes test.

A new product launched at the Arab Health exhibition uses pulse wave data, eliminating the painful needle pricking procedure for a blood sample, to check for blood sugar levels.

Ufit TEN 20, developed by the Canadian company Biosign, works like a simple blood pressure cuff, gathering pulse wave data in 40 second painless and familiar readings that are sent to servers based in Canada and results are instantly returned to the operator.

Individuals can access their blood sugar, pressure and pulse readings instantly via the Internet without the need for consulting a physician through the device. Readings can be taken even without connectivity and can be send online at a later stage.

“The data is analysed in Canada through a highly secure computing system while the patient remains anonymous,” explained Robert Kaul, Executive Vice President, Biosign Technologies.

“People do not check their glucose levels enough mostly due to the fear of being pricked,” he said. He also said quoting studies by the New England Journal of Medicine, that 97 per cent of patients have type 2 diabetes.

“At this stage, this device is better suited for people with type 2 diabetes unlike the type 1 which occurs mostly in children whose systems are developing constantly,” said Kaul. He, however, adds that the device should only be used to check for early warning signs while a physician should be consulted for further confirmatory tests. According to Kaul, the device would also be cost effective. “Currently 50 test strips for blood sugar are available for Dh150 in the UAE,” he said, adding that the launching price was yet to be decided. “The product should be available in the UAE market within the next few weeks subject to ministry approval,” said Kaul, adding that Ufit was approved for use in parts of Europe and UK.

Last year, the US Food and Drug Authority approved a similar device that pulls body fluid using small electric currents while researchers are developing other methods of non-invasive monitoring such as ultrasound, measuring energy waves, and even apply radio waves to fingertips.

A number of pharmacists, however, expressed doubt over accuracy of the device. “Such devices are not yet widely available in the UAE but isn’t it better to take a blood sample since computer readings may not be 100 per cent accurate,” said a pharmacist, who wished to remain anonymous.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com