Inventors: Dr. Gita Khalili Moghaddam (Clinical Neurosciences), Professor Chris Lowe (Cambridge Academy of Therapeutic Sciences) & Jeff Blyth (GlycoVue)
Mentor: Bob Pettigrew
Diabetes needs to be carefully controlled, with regular monitoring of blood glucose levels and careful use of insulin. The incidence of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes is increasing throughout the world, and stabilisation can be difficult in new cases. In addition the existing diabetes test strips are very low cost and very reliable, making it difficult for new technologies to gain a foothold.
This project uses the results of more than 15 years of research in the field of near-continuous glucose monitoring in a range of biological fluids. Using a transparent glucose-sensitive hologram and an AI-enabled smartphone app to measure the colour response, the inventors aim to revolutionise diabetes management by making monitoring easier and potentially leading to better patient adherence.
The new technology can be implemented in a variety of ways, including offering a simple alternative to existing test strips and incorporating holograms into contact lenses. The challenge for the i-Team is to investigate patient acceptability and preferences for different monitoring approaches, to allow the inventors to focus on the best strategy for deployment of their new method. As part of this the i-Team will need to look at how these preferences and/or need for better monitoring techniques vary across age groups and other key demographics.