Glucose-Monitoring Smartphone Case Developed

A new re-useable glucose-monitoring smartphone case developed by engineers at the University of California San Diego could make it easier for diabetics to test blood glucose without using a traditional kit.

“Integrating blood glucose sensing into a smartphone would eliminate the need for patients to carry a separate device,” Patrick Mercier, professor of electrical and computer engineering at UC San Diego said in a statement. “An added benefit is the ability to autonomously store, process, and send blood glucose readings from the phone to a care provider or cloud service,” Mobi-Health-News reported.

The device, called GPhone, is built into a smartphone case with an accompanying app which lets patients record and track their glucose readings. The 3D-printed case fits over the smartphone and has a permanent, reusable sensor on the corner. It also has enzyme-packed pellets that magnetically attach to the sensors. The pellets are housed in the 3D stylus attached to the side of the case.

Users perform the glucose test by dispensing one of the pellets from the stylus onto a bare sensor strip on the case, which in turn activates the sensor. The user then puts a drop of blood on the sensor strip.

From there, the electronic module wirelessly transmits the data to the app where it can be displayed on the user’s mobile screen.

The pellet is discarded after the test. The stylus holds enough pellets for 30 tests.

“This system is versatile and can be easily modified to detect other substances for use in healthcare, environmental, and defense applications,” Joseph Wang, coauthor and nano-engineering professor at UCSD, said in a statement.

The team plans to integrate glucose sensing directly into the smartphone instead of the case, but this move is currently at the proof-of-concept stage.