Emily winced as the lance pricked her skin, drawing a single drop of blood. Without a second to waste, she pressed her fingertip to the test strip attached to the diabetes testing machine and held her breath in anticipation – 8.2mmol/L. She breathed a sigh of relief. The result was normal.
After living with Type 2 diabetes for almost two years, many would have thought that Emily Walker would have gotten used to the small pricks from the diabetes lance by now.
The reality, on the other hand, was the opposite: Emily hated the intrusive testing procedure just as vehemently as she did the first time.
The pricks hurt. It wasn’t much more than a needle sting, but it still did hurt you know. Emily wished for a better, simpler solution that didn’t involve drawing blood from her fingers.
This article outlines non-invasive products and methods for diabetes testing – Please check out our first article in the diabetes series – a guide to understanding diabetes disease.
Needle-free alternatives to diabetes testing
Luckily for her and the other 415 million people with diabetes in our world, we now officially have numerous needle-free alternatives to diabetes testing. In today’s article, we’ve compiled a list of interesting products and innovative technologies – some are already in the market. FreeStyle Libre seems the most mature one – they also have regular products that you can find in their website and Amazon
1. GlucoTrack for diabetes testing
Developed by Israeli company Integrity Applications, GlucoTrack is a one of a kind non-intrusive blood sugar monitor that can provide a reading after you simply clip it to your earlobe.
The device makes use of electromagnetic, ultrasonic, and thermal waves and sends a reading to the main unit. You can read your sugar levels from the unit’s big screen and legible fonts and hear the result too with its audible function. The device has clinically proven its accuracy and even has a USB port so that you can download your data to share with your nurse or physician. Diabetes testing has never before been so simple.
2. Eversense CGM for Diabetes Testing
The Eversense sensor is truly revolutionizing the way we monitor diabetes today. The size of a single penny, the sensor is made up of completely safe, bio-compatible materials and can be easily placed into a patient’s arm by health professionals.
The process is painless. A small, removable transmitter can be attached to your arm directly above the position of the sensor to transmit readings to your mobile device every 5 minutes. The transmitter is waterproof and can give you alerts if it detects an anomaly in readings by means of discrete vibrations.
Each sensor lasts for around 3 months, after which you can simply get a new one. The Eversense CGM is giving people the confidence and ease they need to do all the things they love without constantly worrying about their health.