The incidence of diabetes mellitus is increasing rapidly in developed countries due to increasing obesity, inactive lifestyles, and an aging population. Estimates by the World Health Organization have shown the current global prevalence of diabetes is 3% (194 million people) and is expected to increase in prevalence to 6.3% by 2025. As the incidence of diabetes increases, a corresponding increase in diabetes monitoring and care will be needed.
The goal of any type of diabetes care is to keep blood glucose levels as normal as possible. Complications of diabetes may be more prevalent if blood glucose is not controlled. Some examples of complications are high blood pressure, stroke, eye disease/blindness, kidney disease, heart disease, food disease and amputations, complications of pregnancy, skin and dental disease.
Those who suffer from diabetes must control blood glucose levels on a daily, and sometimes hourly, basis. Insulin is only effective if injected directly into the bloodstream where it may be used by the body to neutralize the effects of excessive blood sugar accumulation. Those who suffer from diabetes and their caregivers must become adept at determining the diabetic's blood glucose level, calculating the correct dosage of insulin required to help return the level to a normal range, loading a syringe with the calculated dosage, and administering the calculated dose through the use of the loaded syringe.
To determine the amount of insulin that is required, a user or caregiver must typically use a glucose monitoring system (aka glucose meter). To test glucose levels with a typical meter, blood is placed on a disposable test strip and placed in the meter. The test strips are coated with suitable chemicals, such as glucose oxidase, dehydrogenase, or hexokinase that combine with glucose in the blood. The meter measures how much glucose is present based on the reactions with these chemicals. Upon receiving the glucose reading, the user or caregiver may determine the amount of insulin required by the user by calculating the dosage required to modify the glucose level to a level in the normal range. The user or caregiver may then load that dose of insulin into a syringe and inject the user.
A concern in the use of a simple glucose meter is that there is no current device that is capable of giving a glucose reading and calculating the insulin dosage from that reading in a single device. An additional concern is that a user or caregiver may have difficulty seeing the markings on a syringe barrel and, subsequently, have difficulty determining when the appropriate dose has been drawn into the syringe barrel. A final concern is that the user, whether it is the diabetic or a caregiver, may be distracted and draw an inaccurate amount of the compound into the syringe barrel through simple inattention to the markings on the barrel. Therefore, new approaches are needed to improve the functionality and convenience of glucose meters.