This is a high-tech “band-aid”.

Monitoring glucose levels is part of everyday life for millions of people around the world. While some alternatives exist, they typically require a “prick” to draw a small drop of blood for testing. A new invention wants to change that.

New method. A team of engineers from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore has developed a patch that, using an external light source and a device with a camera like smartphoneallows us to measure blood glucose levels. The new system will eliminate the need for annoying injections when measuring blood glucose levels.

The device looks like a band-aid — a small sticky rubber band. In the prototype shown by the development team, three transparent circles can be distinguished. It is these small crystals that allow the measurements to be taken.

Three biomarkers. Thirdly, since this device can be used not only to measure glucose levels, but also urea and lactate levels. These measurements can help, among other things, people with kidney problems or oxygenation problems.

From blood to sweat. The new device is less invasive than “traditional” glucose-measuring mechanisms, cheaper and more convenient than devices based on external sensors. It achieves this by studying our sweat, not blood.

The design is based on microlasers. These microlasers are “encapsulated” in small beads of liquid crystals, which in turn are placed in a hydrogel film. When sweat interacts with these crystals, the light emitted by the microlasers fluctuates depending on the level of presence of each of the biomarkers.

To “activate” this mechanism, you only need a light source that hits this “adhesive patch”. To perform the reading, a smartphone with a camera and an application designed for this purpose will be enough.

More precisely. The team successfully tested their system in real-world conditions, confirming that the device can measure even small fluctuations in the levels of these three biomarkers.

The device was used to detect changes in glucose levels with an accuracy of 0.001 millimeters, 100 times more accurate than current technology, the team said in a press release. Details of the idea were outlined in a journal article. Analytical chemistry.

Epoch wearable devices. It’s unlikely we’ll see these devices in pharmacies for a few years, but the research could open up new possibilities for developing less invasive tests that can easily and accurately monitor our health.

We have more and more devices at our disposal that allow us to track key biomarkers of our health in a simpler, more accurate and more cost-effective way. These devices can greatly improve the quality of life for many people with conditions like diabetes, but they can also be of great help to many others, from elite athletes to people who want to monitor their health more accurately.

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Image | NTU