Joint venture to develop painless diabetes monitoring with NFC

A phone shows a patient's glucose level
GOOD SENSE: Diabetic patients will be able to read their glucose levels with an NFC phone

A new joint venture that includes the US-based Mayo Clinic and Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute is developing an NFC-based diabetes monitoring system to replace the traditional glucometers that are currently used to monitor patients’ blood sugar levels. The system will also use phones to control insulin delivery, using disposable NFC insulin delivery systems.

Mobile healthcare specialist Gentag — a long-time supporter of NFC technology — and glucose monitoring solutions provider NovioSense are also part of the venture.

The solution will incorporate implantable sensors, skin patches, eye sensors and insulin delivery systems that can all be controlled using an NFC mobile device. Gentag first demonstrated its platform and began licensing it to a number of leading healthcare solution providers in January 2011 as a way of enabling self-testing for pregnancy, fertility, pathogens, Aids, drugs, allergens and certain types of cancers.

The joint venture has been formed alongside a “large global partner interested in leading the next generation of diabetes monitoring,” according to Gentag.

“The joint venture [solution] is covered by 75 issued patents worldwide and is significantly lower cost than current type 2 diabetes solutions,” Gentag says. “Development will be carried out simultaneously on both sides of the Atlantic by NovioSense and Gentag, together with the diabetes teams from Mayo Clinic and the sensor and NFC teams of Fraunhofer IMS.”

“Our patented technology allows us to make wireless sensors that are batteryless, disposable, painless and use cell phones or other NFC devices as glucometers,” says Gentag CEO Dr John Peeters. “Furthermore, we can use the cell phones as controllers for insulin delivery, including disposable NFC insulin delivery systems.”

“By creating a device powered only by the NFC antennas found in most modern smartphones and combining this with a pain-free sensor platform, we can cut the cost and burden of glucose monitoring dramatically,” adds NovioSense CEO Dr Christopher Wilson. “We want to make pain free glucose monitoring available to everyone.”

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2 comments on this article

  1. Developing the painless diabetes monitoring is great. I was diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes and put on Metformin on June 26th, 2014. I started the ADA diet and followed it 100% for a few weeks and could not get my blood sugar to go below 140. Finally i began to panic and called my doctor, he told me to get used to it. He said I would be on metformin my whole life and eventually insulin. At that point i knew something wasn’t right and began to do a lot of research. On April 13th I found this book on
    n­a­t­u­r­a­l­-­d­i­a­b­e­t­e­s­t­r­e­a­t­m­e­n­t­.­c­o­m/how-to-cure-my-diabetes-naturally/
    . I read the book from end to end that night because everything the writer was saying made absolute sense. I started the diet that day and the next morning my blood sugar was down to 100, the next day was in the 90’s and now i have a fasting blood sugar between Mid 70’s and the 80’s. My doctor took me off the metformin after just one week of being on this lifestyle change. I have lost over 30 pounds in a month. I now work out twice a day and still have tons of energy. I have lost 6+ inches around my waist and I am off my high blood pressure medication too. I have about 20 more pounds to go till my body finds its ideal weight. The great news is, this is a lifestyle I can live with, it makes sense and it works. God Bless the writer. I wish the ADA would stop enabling consumers and tell them the truth. You can get off the drugs, you can help yourself, but you have to have a correct lifestyle and diet. No more processed foods.

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