A small, skin-entering blood testing device which sends results instantly to users’ mobile phones is undergoing testing, offering a solution to patients whose conditions require frequent monitoring.
The unique 14mm x 2mm wireless device can track five different substances in blood and transfer results via Bluetooth to cell phone.
Through needle insertion the Swiss-developed apparatus can remain under the patient’s skin for months before removal or replacement is necessary.
According to Giovanni de Micheli, professor at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne) and scientist Sandro Carrara, the technology is especially useful for the monitoring of patients suffering from chronic conditions such as high cholesterol and diabetes, as well as those treated by chemotherapy.
“It will allow direct and continuous monitoring based on a patient’s individual tolerance, and not on age and weight charts or weekly blood tests,” Micheli said.
Planning to test the device on Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients soon, a release by 2017 is anticipated.
The test results is also one of the topics of discussion at the Design, Automation and Test in Europe (DATE) underway in France this week.
DATE is an annual conference based on the testing and design of electronic systems.
This year’s event takes place in Grenoble, France from March 18 to 22.
Dresden in Germany was announced as the 2014 host yesterday, together with the opening of submissions of papers to be discussed between March 24 and 28 next year.
