Today’s Good News: Simply Shining Light on Skin Can Replace Finger Pricks for People With Diabetes | A Step in the Right Direction

Today’s Good News: Simply Shining Light on Skin Can Replace Finger Pricks for People With Diabetes | A Step in the Right Direction

Why this story matters: Stories like this show how communities, innovation, and determination can lead to lasting improvements. Quick summary: This story highlights recent developments related to light, showing how constructive action can lead to meaningful results. Blood-glucose monitor uses light to spare diabetes patients from finger pricks – Credit: Christine Daniloff / MIT A new method for measuring blood glucose levels, developed at MIT, could save diabetes patients from having to prick their fingers several times a day. The MIT team used a technique that reveals the chemical composition of tissue by shining near-infrared light on them—and developed a shoebox-sized device that can measure blood glucose levels without any needles. The researchers found that the measurements from their device were similar to those obtained by commercial continuous glucose monitoring sensors that require a wire to be implanted under the skin. While the device presented in this study is too large to be u…