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Painless Automatic Glucose Monitoring Device Being Developed in Spain

A painless patch that uses tiny micro-needles to monitor diabetic patients’ glucose levels is in development at the Electronic Technology group of the University of Seville in Spain, according to a press release.  The needles are just 200 microns wide — about twice the diameter of a human hair — and they draw samples of the interstitial fluid that exists between skin cells.  The patch would monitor the patient’s glucose levels regularly, sending readings to their mobile phone.

“The novelty of our research work is that we can use the same technology to extract liquid and to inject it,” says Professor José Manuel Quero, who is leading the research. To date the group has focused developing the needles, which are made from a SU8 (photo sensible polymer) and paired with a flexible printed circuit (or PCB).