Smart blood glucose monitor developed for diabetics in İzmir

Scientists from 5 universities in İzmir, who came together in 2023 to develop a technology that would provide accurate and practical blood glucose measurements—a critical factor in diabetes management—to patients and their doctors with real-time data, have reached the prototype stage of their project.

With the project, which is also supported by TÜBİTAK, the scientists have developed a "glucometer probe" capable of measuring blood sugar from a drop of blood taken from a finger. The device offers the option to send measurement data instantly to a hospital or doctor via an application by plugging it into the mobile phone's charging port.

The device, for which a patent application has been filed, was awarded second place and the "best presentation" award in the "Technology for Humanity Competition - Health and First Aid" category at TEKNOFEST 2024 Mediterranean.

"RAPID CONSULTATION WILL BE PROVIDED TO PATIENTS"

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dilek Büyükkaya Besen, a faculty member at the Dokuz Eylül University (DEÜ) Faculty of Nursing and a member of the project group, stated that most patients do not carry their blood glucose monitors with them, making it impossible to detect sudden drops or spikes.

Explaining that they developed this technology to improve the quality of life for diabetics, Besen said, "(The device) emerged as a result of our dreams to improve the comfort and quality of life of patients. We aimed to make blood glucose monitors portable and to turn diabetics' mobile phones or smartwatches into blood glucose monitors. Our goal is for this device to be used by all individuals with diabetes or those who require blood glucose monitoring, and for everyone to be able to access and use this device comfortably."

Besen stated that the device, which provides healthy and reliable results, is in the prototype stage and will be made available for use after laboratory tests and authorization processes.

Merve Dervişoğlu, a research assistant at the DEÜ Faculty of Nursing, pointed out that health professionals can see the data of the patients they follow in real-time through the application thanks to this device, adding, "If there is a case of hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia in the measurement results, this acute complication can be detected, and rapid consultation can be provided to patients."

"HEALTH PROFESSIONALS CAN ALSO MONITOR THE RESULTS"

Merve Günbaş, a specialist diabetes education nurse at İzmir Democracy University Buca Seyfi Demirsoy Training and Research Hospital, said that the application opens when the blood glucose monitoring device is plugged into the mobile phone, and the values appear on the application screen once the test strip is inserted.

Stating that results can be obtained within 3-5 seconds just like other blood glucose monitors, Günbaş said, "After the blood sugar measurement, the application gives us a prompt asking whether it is fasting, postprandial, or a measurement at another time of the day. We select whichever measurement time we are in at that moment. Health professionals following the patient can also monitor these real-time measurement results."

In addition to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dilek Büyükkaya Besen, Research Assistant Merve Dervişoğlu, and specialist nurse Merve Günbaş, the team that developed the "integratable glucometer probe" device also included Prof. Dr. Orhan Er, Head of the Department of Computer Hardware at Bakırçay University, and Dr. Yalın Kılıç, a faculty member at the İzmir University of Economics Faculty of Engineering.

News Source: AA