Transdermal Diagnostics: non-invasive, affordable, continuous glucose monitoring for diabetes management and prevention.

糖尿病是一个巨大的全球健康问题，也是英国国民保健制度和其他医疗保健系统的重大经济负担。在世界范围内，超过4.6亿人患有糖尿病，其中10%为I型糖尿病，需要注射胰岛素来控制血液中的糖（特别是葡萄糖）含量。然而，（越来越多的）大多数人患有2型糖尿病，至少在疾病的早期阶段，他们并不依赖胰岛素。此外，有近3.8亿成年人患有前驱糖尿病，但只有约15%的人被诊断出来。因此，密切监测和控制血糖水平是糖尿病治疗的主要医疗重点。目前市场上非常昂贵的连续血糖监测（CGM）设备针对的是正在接受胰岛素强化治疗的15型糖尿病患者，需要在皮肤下植入一根小针或纤维并长期佩戴。相比之下，2型糖尿病患者、前驱糖尿病患者和1型糖尿病患者没有这些CGMs，他们几乎完全依赖于不频繁且令人不快的“刺手指”来监测血糖，而且毫不奇怪，他们不情愿这样做，导致他们的血糖水平控制得非常差。因此，在糖尿病医疗保健这一重要且不断增长的领域，无创和无针技术的潜在市场是显而易见的。该项目旨在开发第一个真正的无针和无校准CGM监测仪，这种监测仪成本低，因此可以广泛使用。我们的监测器专门进入毛囊提取非常小体积的液体，这些液体浸泡在皮肤中的活细胞中。这种液体含有葡萄糖，其含量与血液中的葡萄糖含量非常相似。因此，我们改变游戏规则的方法是一种价格合理的设备，通过定制的应用程序与手机通信——所有这些都在一个可穿戴的贴片内，带有一次性组件。我们的目标是为糖尿病患者提供一种谨慎的、负担得起的、用户友好的设备，显著减缓甚至阻止他们病情的进展，并使血糖水平能够以完全无痛的方式进行监测和控制。

Diabetes is a huge, global health problem and a significant economic burden on the NHS and other healthcare systems. Worldwide, over 460M people have diabetes and 10% of these are Type I and need insulin injections to control the amount of sugar (specifically, glucose) in their blood. The (growing) majority, however, live with Type 2 diabetes and are not, at least in the earlier stages of the disease, insulin-dependent. Furthermore, there are nearly 380M adults with prediabetes but only ~15% have been diagnosed. Close monitoring and control of blood glucose levels is therefore a major medical priority in the management of diabetes.The very expensive continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices presently on the market are aimed at Type 1s undergoing intensive treatment with insulin and involve implantation of a small needle or fibre under the skin and long-term wear. In contrast, Type 2s, people with prediabetes and Type 1s without access to these CGMs rely almost exclusively on infrequent and unpleasant "fingerpricking" to monitor their blood sugar and do so, unsurprisingly, with reluctance, resulting in very poor control of their glucose levels. The potential market for a non-invasive and needle-free, technology in this significant and growing sector of diabetic healthcare is therefore clear.This project aims to develop the first truly needle- and calibration-free monitor for CGM that is low-cost and widely accessible as a result. Our monitor specifically accesses hair follicles to extract a very small volume of the fluid which bathes the living cells in the skin. This fluid contains glucose at a level which is very similar to that in the blood. Our game-changing approach, therefore, is an affordable device that communicates with a mobile phone via a customised app - all within a wearable patch, with disposable components. The goal is a discreet, affordable and user-friendly device for people with diabetes that significantly slows down, or even prevents, the progression of their condition and enables blood glucose levels to be monitored and controlled in a completely painless manner.