Georgetown University researchers have teamed with Gentag, and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to create a new non-invasive method of measuring blood glucose. The method uses disposable, RFID-enabled skin patches and cell phones to monitor glucose. It could eliminate the need for the traditional finger prick method to draw blood of diabetic patients.
The solution combines glucose sensor technology developed by SAIC and Georgetown with Gentag’s cell phone-based RFID devices. A disposable, wireless skin patch will measure glucose levels and subsequently report those levels to a cell phone that could also wirelessly control an insulin pump.
The skin patch technology was initially developed by physics professors John Currie and Mak Paranjape at GAEL (Georgetown Advanced Electronics Laboratory) and researchers Thomas Schneider and Robert White, who worked in the micro-electro-mechanical systems department at SAIC. The patch was first used to monitor the status of soldiers on the battlefield.
The skin patches will be designed so that readings will be possible once every hour for a 24-hour period. In addition to the convenience of using a cell phone as a reader, the cell phone could also allow emergency locating of patients experiencing a diabetes-related medical crisis. ![[end]](/resources/bullet/rfidnews-4.gif)
