為了要控制糖尿病，患者有時一天要測高達八次的血糖，分別在每日三餐飯前飯後、吃點心前後、運動完、就寢前，甚至半夜時間。這有點像是個「疼痛」的兼職工作，因為每次測量血糖都需要用針扎手指，造成患者有時乾脆不量—但這種情況可能很快就會改變。
當你將暫時性紋身貼紙貼在手臂上，它就可以估算皮膚內的血糖濃度，並將結果直接傳送給醫生，或是儲存在雲端。這個感應器目前正在加州大學的奈米工程實驗室中開發。
「這個非侵入式的紋身貼紙感應器，除了成本低廉外，還有許多優點。」研發這個裝置的研究生Amay Bandodkar如此說。
每個紋身貼紙只要幾塊錢台幣，比起現行高達60元台幣的驗血紙條便宜許多，而研究者正努力把成本壓得更低。雖然感應器不像使用針頭一樣可以即時得到結果，但仍十分可靠，並能得到一個清楚的估測值。
它的原理是將電流輕微地流經人體皮膚，如果血糖值很高，這時就會產生強力的電荷。它的使用方式就像一般紋身貼紙一樣容易，只要沾點水貼在皮膚上，然後把紙撕掉。這個紋身貼紙最終也會使用在非糖尿病患者身上。研究團隊發現它還可以用來測量身體壓力或電解質不平衡的狀況，甚至產生再生能源—貼紙中的生物燃料電池可以從汗水中發電，最後用來為穿戴式電子產品充電。
現在研究人員專注於為糖尿病患者改良感應器，使它可以持續更久（目前可持續一天），並創造一個可以顯示這些結果的穿戴式設備。此外，這個裝置也將使一次收集數百萬名糖尿病患者人的血糖資料變得容易，研究者也能藉此更了解這個疾病。
「現在我們已驗證概念，但仍有許多地方需要改進。直到商品上市，還需花費至少數年的時間。」Bandodkar說明。 可以預想得到，當推出這項產品時，它可能會加入新世代血糖測量儀器的行列，像是Google的概念性產品—用智能隱形眼鏡測量眼淚中的血糖值，最終，驗血糖針頭將會變成過去式。
To keep diabetes under control, patients sometimes have to check their blood sugar as many as eight times a day—before and after every meal or snack, before and after exercise, before bed, and in the middle of the night. It's a little like a part-time job, and it hurts: Each test requires a painful finger prick with a needle, so patients sometimes avoid it. But that may soon change.
When you stick a new paper-based temporary tattoo on your arm, it can estimate glucose levels in your skin. Eventually, the tattoo will be able to send that data directly to a doctor, or store it in the cloud. The sensor is in development now in Joseph Wang's nanoengineering lab at UC San Diego's Center for Wearable Sensors.
"The non-invasive nature of our tattoo sensor, as well as its low cost, are some of the major advantages as compared to other technologies," says graduate student Amay Bandodkar, who is working on the device.
Each tattoo costs only a few cents, a fraction of the cost of current $2 test strips, and the researchers are working to bring that down even more. The sensor is also reliable. Even though it can't give results in real-time, like a needle, it can give a clear estimate. It uses electrodes to mildly zap skin; if glucose levels are high, they'll produce a strong electrical charge in response.
It's as simple to use as a typical temporary tattoo—all someone has to do is apply it with a little water and then peel the paper away.
The tattoos could also eventually be used for non-diabetics. In other experiments, the research team has shown that the tattoos can measure things like physical stress or electrolyte imbalance. They can even generate renewable power; tattoo biofuel cells can make electricity from sweat, and that could eventually be used to power wearable electronics.
For now, the researchers are focused on improving the sensor design for diabetics, helping it last longer (the current iteration lasts about a day), and creating a wearable device that can display the results.
"At present, we have demonstrated a proof-of-principle and much optimization needs to be done," Bandodkar says. "It will take at least a few years of dedicated research before it can be made commercially available."
When it comes to market, it might join other devices like Google's concept for a smart contact lens that can measure glucose in tears. Eventually, needles might be a thing of the past. The tattoos could also make it easier to collect data from millions of people at a time, so researchers may be able to better understand the disease.
Source:http://www.fastcoexist.com/3041258/forget-needles-for-diabetics-this-temporary-tattoo-tracks-blood-sugar-without-pain#4
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