Diabetes affects 1 in 5 people in the UK. It causes sufferers to have too much glucose in their blood. This can be dangerous to health, and it is, therefore, vital to keep track of blood glucose levels regularly. Scientists at Bath have developed a way of monitoring blood glucose levels continuously using a class of robust glucose sensors based on a chemical unit as the core signalling component. That chemical signalling unit was established by the James group in the Department of Chemistry.
Their technology uses fluorescent chemicals that glow when they interact with glucose. As well as being robust it is more accurate and lower cost than other sensor systems. This technology has been developed by GlySure Ltd for monitoring severely ill hospital patients in intensive care and is now being used in an implantable glucose sensor for diabetics, by a company in the US. The wireless sensor connects to a phone app so diabetics can check their blood sugar levels at any time without pinprick tests, helping them to be more in control of their health.