Researchers at the University of São Paulo’s São Carlos Physics Institute have teamed up with the scientists from the University of California’s Department of Nanoengineering, San Diego to develop a biosensor capable of detecting glucose levels in the blood using a person’s tears.
To make this possible, the researchers embedded the biosensor into the nose pad of glasses. Users can simply wear the glasses to get started. In addition to glucose, the researchers say that it can also measure the sugar, vitamin, and alcohol levels in the human body.
When tears come in contact with the sensor, it analyzes and sends the results to a connected PC or smartphone. The study titled “Eyeglasses-based tear biosensing system: Non-invasive detection of alcohol, vitamins and glucose” got published in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics.
“The concentrations of various metabolites in tears reflect concurrent blood levels, making them an attractive medium for non-invasive monitoring of physiological parameters.”, Laís Canniatti Brazaca, a physician and researcher at the São Carlos Chemistry Institute told SciDev.Net.
The same research team has developed a biosensor capable of detecting and quantifying biomarker proteins for “clinical diagnosis of neglected diseases and chronic degenerative diseases”.
This could help conduct exams using just a drop of blood, according to Paulo Roberto Bueno, a materials engineer at the State University of São Paulo Chemical Institute. The researchers are planning to commercialize this unit in three years. For the glasses-based biosensor though, there is no expected timeline so far.
So, what do you think of these two concepts for making medical checkups seamless? Let us know in the comments.
Featured Image Courtesy: Juliane R. Sempionatto Moreto/University of California
