Breaking: MIT Team Unveils Shoebox‑Sized Device for Noninvasive Glucose Monitoring in Under a Minute
A compact optical sensor,roughly the size of a shoebox,can now read blood‑sugar levels directly through the skin in about 36 seconds,marking a major step toward truly noninvasive point‑of‑care glucose monitoring.
Why a New Monitoring Method Is Urgent
Diabetes is projected to affect 592 million people worldwide by 2035, according to the International Diabetes Federation. Regular testing remains the cornerstone of disease management,yet the daily finger‑prick routine is cumbersome for many.
Current continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) rely on tiny needles inserted just under the skin and must be replaced every one to two weeks. While less painful than finger sticks, they are still invasive and add to the long‑term cost burden.
Raman Spectroscopy meets Band‑Pass Filtering
Researchers at MIT have built a portable sensor that exploits Raman scattering-light that changes wavelength after interacting with molecular bonds. By directing an 830 nm near‑infrared beam onto the skin at an off‑axis angle,the device suppresses background reflections and isolates the faint glucose signal.
instead of capturing the full 1,000‑plus Raman bands, the system focuses on three narrowly chosen windows surrounding the glucose peak at 1125 cm⁻¹. Two adjacent sidebands serve as internal references, allowing a simple, physics‑based calculation rather than a complex AI model.
Prototype Performance in a Human Pilot
A 27‑year‑old healthy male placed his forearm on the device while the sensor illuminated a small glass window. Measurements were recorded every five minutes for four hours, coinciding with two 75‑gram glucose drinks.
For comparison, two commercial invasive cgms were inserted into the opposite arm, and a standard finger‑prick meter provided reference readings every ten minutes. The Raman‑based readings tracked the glucose trend closely and matched the accuracy of the invasive devices.