Evaluation of a Non-Invasive Laser-Based Near-Infrared Spectrometric Glucose Monitor in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus.

摘要

Diabetes Mellitus is a chronic disease whose complications of blindness, amputations, kidney failure, and cardiovascular disease are devastating in both their human and financial costs. Although it has been clearly demonstrated that complications can be prevented by improving blood glucose (BG) levels, achieving the levels of glycemic control necessary has proved to be an elusive target. The development of portable glucose meters has empowered patients to perform home blood glucose monitoring (HBGM), however, getting patients to do so has been difficult because each test requires a sometimes painful finger-stick (FS) to obtain blood for the test and the cost per test (about 50 cents) is limiting. Thus, the technology to monitor BG non-invasively and inexpensively has been the "Holy Grail" of diabetes management. Numerous investigators have used a variety of technologies in an attempt to produce a non-invasive monitor. Because of both technical and performance limitations, however, only one device (GlucoWatch G2) has been approved and this has been shown to be inaccurate at clinically important low glucose levels.