Check your blood glucose levels without having to prick your finger

DIABETIC Hate having to prick your finger so you test your blood sugar levels each day? We wouldn't blame you if you did, so that's why a new gizmo developed my scientists at Cardiff University's School of Engineering has us all intrigued. Blood glucose testing without the need for blood? Tell us more...This plaster can actually read your blood sugar levels

Without the need for chemicals or any sort of invasive procedure, the remote control-esque device simply sticks to the skin and determines those all important levels via the medium of microwaves.

"It will help with the management of the condition," commented one of its creators, prof Adrian Porch, in an interview with the BBC. "Conventional methods of monitoring blood glucose require the extraction of blood. Our device is non-invasive - it does not require the extraction of blood apart from the initial calibration."

Worried about all those microwaves floating into your system while its testing your blood? No need to worry, prof Porch is quick to point out it's entirely safe to use. "It uses microwaves, but the levels are very, very low. Nowhere near the levels used in domestic cooking," he adds.

While current results have proved positive, the team behind its creation will still need to put the monitor through another five years of testing before its considered ready for the mass market.

Futuristic blood sugar monitors are nothing new though - earlier in the year a team from Seoul National University came up with a graphen patch that could check said levels and inject insulin all in one plaster-sized package.

By Dom Reseigh-Lincoln