Relief From Pin-Pricking May Be at Hand for Diabetics

Diabetes is a complex disease with complex causes and complex treatment regimens. In the end, though, it comes down to this: to stay well, a person with Diabetes A has to draw blood four times a day.

"It’s painful and it’s stressful," says Matt Petersen, the director of information services in the American Diabetes Association’s Medical and Science Division. "If anyone can come up with a cost-effective, safe, non-invasive way to measure glucose, I can’t imagine the world not beating a path to their door."

Ron Nagar and Benny Pesach, the founders of Glucon, Inc., have created a watch-like device that reads blood glucose levels without the need to stick, poke, or prick the skin. Based on photo-acoustics research first done at Tel Aviv University in Israel, their device uses lasers, ultrasound, and advanced software algorithms to get a reading that is as efficient and accurate as pin-prick tests. And, says Glucon’s CEO, Dan Goldberger, it won’t be any more costly than testing kits, which today average between $1,500 and $2,000 per year for a patient.

By Sam Jaffe

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