Tattoo may help diabetics track their blood sugar

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Paul Barone, a postdoctoral researcher in MIT Department of Chemical Engineering, and professor Michael Strano are working on a new type of blood glucose monitor that could not only eliminate the need for finger pricks but also offer more accurate readings. 'Diabetes is an enormous problem, global in scope, and despite decades of engineering advances, our ability to accurately measure glucose in the human body still remains quite primitive,' says Strano, the Charles and Hilda Roddey Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering. 'It is a life-and-death issue for a growing number of people.' - Strano and Barone's sensing system consists of a 'tattoo' of nanoparticles designed to detect glucose, injected below the skin. A device similar to a wristwatch would be worn over the tattoo, displaying the patient's glucose levels. A 2008 study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that continuous monitoring helped adult type I diabetes patients who were at least 25 years old better control their blood glucose levels. However, existing wearable devices are not as accurate as the finger-prick test and have to be recalibrated once or twice a day ? a process that still involves pricking the finger.