Iterative Process - Blood Glucose Meters

The design I want to analyze is the blood glucose meter. Measuring glucose levels can reduce the severity of the disease and identify potential complications. Kap, K, Push, Hardy and Horzum, 2021). Since my grandmother was a diabetic, I watched her test her blood sugar with different machines. I wanted to know the difference between these changes. Therefore, I chose the glucose meter as my example of a design that has evolved throughout history.

In the beginning, diabetic patients could not perform blood glucose testing at home, relying on urine testing in the hospital. In 1908, Benedict invented a copper reagent for urine glucose and made some modifications to it. It has been used for more than 50 years (Clarke and Foster, 2012). It is the most critical development in the commercialization of urine glucose detection.

It was not until the late 1960s and early 1970s that Ames invented the first blood glucose test strip Dextrostix using glucose oxidase. A drop of blood dripped on the bandage and was washed off after 60 seconds. Then compare the generated colour with the chart on the bottle(Irl B.Hirsch, MD, 2018). And Dextrostix inevitably has poor accuracy.

The first easy-to-use home blood glucose meters did not appear until around 1981. The basic process of using these instruments is the same as today's use, which is to expose blood to an enzyme. The general principle of the detection is that once the blood is exposed to the enzyme, it will oxidize (lose electrons) and then pass through the electrode, which reads a current proportional to the amount of oxidized glucose (Coulter, 2016).

One of the most significant advancements in recent years is the introduction of continuous glucose monitors (CGM). These devices can perform glucose levels approximately every 5 minutes. They measured the glucose in the interstitial fluid between cells under the skin, not the glucose in the blood. Unfortunately, it is not accurate enough at the moment. The accuracy is quite good when fasting blood sugar. But if the sugar content spikes or drops quickly, the accuracy of these meters will be biased. It is why people who use CGM still need to check the sugar content with a traditional meter regularly.

As for the development of a blood glucose detector in the future, I have consulted my grandmother. As a patient, she hopes that it can be more convenient for her to test, and she does not need to carry extra instruments with her. Several years ago, a team at MIT began to study "tattoo" blood glucose readers (Seegert, 2015). It is done by injecting a special ink under the skin, and when exposed to near-infrared light, the "tattoo" will colour to reflect the user's blood sugar. The invention is still under development now.

With the development of science and technology, the appearance, methodology and performance of blood glucose meter have been greatly improved and promoted. It is hoped that most diabetic patients can realize convenient and accurate blood glucose tests as soon as possible.

References：

Clarke, S. and Foster, J., 2012. A history of blood glucose meters and their role in self-monitoring of diabetes mellitus. British Journal of Biomedical Science, 69(2), pp.83-93.

Coulter, S., 2016. The History and Future of Blood Glucose Monitoring - Diabetes Self-Management. [online] Diabetes Self-Management. Available at: <https://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/blog/history-future-blood-glucose-monitoring/>.

Irl B.Hirsch, MD., 2018. History of Glucose Monitoring. Role of Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Diabetes.

Kap, Ö., Kılıç, V., Hardy, J. and Horzum, N., 2021. Smartphone-based colorimetric detection systems for glucose monitoring in the diagnosis and management of diabetes. The Analyst,.

Seegert, C., 2015. Tattoo-Based Sensor Monitors Glucose Levels Without Finger Pricks. [online] Meddeviceonline.com. Available at: <https://www.meddeviceonline.com/doc/tattoo-based-sensor-monitors-glucose-levels-without-finger-pricks-0001> .