OccuLook - a non-invasive blood glucose meter for diabetes care

糖尿病是一种长期疾病，当胰腺停止分泌胰岛素或身体不能有效地利用产生的胰岛素时就会发生。糖尿病患者患严重健康问题的风险增加，包括心脏病、失明、肾衰竭和下肢截肢。糖尿病在全球范围内正以惊人的速度增长。国际糖尿病联合会表示，目前有4.63亿人患有糖尿病，到2045年，这一数字将增加到7亿。根据英国公共卫生部的数据，目前英国有450万人患有糖尿病，每年的治疗费用为100亿英镑；几乎占NHS全部预算的10%。自我监测血糖对于维持健康的血糖水平至关重要。主要的方法是用针扎手指，将采集到的血液放在试纸上。全世界每天进行4400多万次检测，每年全球成本超过140亿美元。通过这些测量，患者能够调整他们的饮食和药物。尽管有测量的需要，但手指棒法普遍不受欢迎，因为：*它是侵入性的，有感染的风险*不断刺手指会导致皮肤坚硬*这个过程不是无痛的*每个病人每年的持续成本约为400英镑。因此，这个项目的目的是开发一种非侵入式仪表，以取代手指棒。该仪器将利用光来分析眼睛中的液体，从而克服上述问题。这种液体主要是血清，因此具有与血液直接相关的葡萄糖成分，并且由于眼睛是透明的，因此可以用光学方法测量它。Occuity团队之前已经开发出了原型仪表，并进行了临床试验，取得了非常有希望的结果。然而，先前的测量技术只观察葡萄糖变化对眼睛的影响，并且由于其他变化而受到可变性的影响。现在已经发明了一种新技术，可以直接测量葡萄糖水平的变化，因此有可能大大提高准确性。该项目初始阶段的目的是审查市场和用户需求，构建使用这种新技术的原型仪表，并为临床评估做准备，目前正在申请SMART拨款。

Diabetes is a long-term disease that occurs when the pancreas stops making insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin that is produced. People with diabetes have an increased risk of developing serious health problems including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure and lower limb amputationDiabetes is increasing at an alarming rate throughout the world. The International Diabetes Federation says that 463 million people now live with the condition and that number will grow to 700 million by 2045\. According to Public Health England there are currently 4.5 million people in the UK with diabetes and the cost of treatment is £10 billion per year; nearly 10 per cent of the NHS's entire budget.Self-monitoring of blood glucose is essential to maintain healthy glucose levels. The main method involves pricking the finger with a needle and putting the blood obtained on a test strip. Worldwide more than 44 million tests are performed daily, at a global cost of over $14 billion per annum. By making these measurements patients are able to adjust their diet and medication.Despite the measurement need, the finger stick method is widely disliked as:* It is invasive and carries the risk of infection* Continuous pricking of the fingers causes hard skin* The process is not pain free* It has an ongoing cost of around £400 per patient per year.The purpose of this project is therefore to develop a non-invasive meter that will replace finger sticks. The instrument will overcome the problems highlighted above by using light to analyse the fluid in the eye. This fluid is primarily blood serum so has a glucose composition directly related to that of blood and, as the eye is transparent, it is possible to measure it optically.The Occuity team have previously developed prototype meters and performed clinical trials that gave very promising results. The previous measurement technique, however, looked at an effect of glucose changes on the eye and was subject to variability due to other changes. A new technique has now been invented that measures direct changes of glucose level and therefore has the potential to be significantly more accurate. The purpose of this initial project phase, for which a SMART grant is being requested, is to review market and user needs, build a prototype meter that uses this new technique and to prepare for a clinical evaluation.