Insulin-dependent diabetics currently have to test their blood sugar levels and administer insulin in a painstaking and imprecise process, which can be dangerous if not done in a timely and correct manner. Most diabetics have to prick their finger for a blood sample, which is then placed in a meter, which measures the blood sugar, and then separately inject the necessary amount of insulin into their body.
New technology has offered an alternative in the form of a pump, which uses wearable pods to administer insulin, but the bulky pods must be worn constantly, and the wearer still needs to test his sugar regularly and try to determine the proper insulin dosage.
Now, a new patch the size of a penny can potentially perform both tasks, constantly monitoring the wearer's blood sugar levels and automatically dispensing insulin when needed. The patch contains over 100 tiny needles, each one as thin as an eyelash. Each microneedle contains enzymes, which can detect blood sugar levels as well as store insulin, which is automatically released when needed.
Trials on mice have been successful, and since mice are even more resistant to insulin than humans, researchers feel the patch may work even better on people once the necessary clinical trials are underway. The patches can also be personalized to account for an individual's weight and insulin sensitivity.
"The hard part of diabetes care is not the insulin shots, or the blood sugar checks, or the diet but the fact that you have to do them all several times a day every day for the rest of your life," stated John Buse, the director of the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences (NC TraCS) Institute and past president of the American Diabetes Association. "If we can get these patches to work in people, it will be a game changer."
