Oxford Medical Diagnostics: breath acquisition and analysis for non-invasive diabetes testing
Lead Participant:
OXFORD MEDICAL DIAGNOSTICS LIMITED
Abstract
Diabetes is one of the most challenging health problems in the 21st century, being a leading cause of death in most high-income countries; in many economically developing countries it is an epidemic. It is estimated that 371m people have diabetes globally costing $471bn pa (11% of global healthcare expenditure) and the incidence is increasing. There are two types of diabetes:
1. Type 1: the absence of insulin production, managed by regular testing of blood glucose
levels (3~10 times daily) and insulin administration.
2. Type 2: insufficient production of, or ineffective use of, insulin, managed by lifestyle
changes and drugs. Diabetic KetoAcidosis [2] (DKA) is a life threatening and acute metabolic complication, and the leading cause of hospitalisation, morbidity, and death in juvenile type 1 diabetes. DKA can also be a serious problem for type 1 and 2 DM sufferers in any age group.
In DKA, lack of insulin results in a rapid increase in blood ketones which acidify the blood.
The blood ketones can be detected using a finger-prick test which is painful, expensive and inconvenient, especially for children, causing poor patient compliance and sub-optimal selfmanagement.
OMD is developing a compact point-of-care (PoC) and home-use device designed to measure breath acetone: another ketone body that is readily exhaled via the lungs. Acetone is correlated to the blood plasma ketones, and its measurement will provide an early warning for DKA onset, resulting in improved patient health and the avoidance of a costly hospital admission. There is further evidence of a correlation between the changes in breath acetone
and blood glucose in Type 1 diabetics which could lead to adjunct and non-invasive
technology for blood glucose measurements [3,4,5].
OMD has produced a prototype to detect breath acetone and will now develop the sampling interfaces and optimised protocols to bring this device to the standard required of a point-ofcare and home-use system.
1. Type 1: the absence of insulin production, managed by regular testing of blood glucose
levels (3~10 times daily) and insulin administration.
2. Type 2: insufficient production of, or ineffective use of, insulin, managed by lifestyle
changes and drugs. Diabetic KetoAcidosis [2] (DKA) is a life threatening and acute metabolic complication, and the leading cause of hospitalisation, morbidity, and death in juvenile type 1 diabetes. DKA can also be a serious problem for type 1 and 2 DM sufferers in any age group.
In DKA, lack of insulin results in a rapid increase in blood ketones which acidify the blood.
The blood ketones can be detected using a finger-prick test which is painful, expensive and inconvenient, especially for children, causing poor patient compliance and sub-optimal selfmanagement.
OMD is developing a compact point-of-care (PoC) and home-use device designed to measure breath acetone: another ketone body that is readily exhaled via the lungs. Acetone is correlated to the blood plasma ketones, and its measurement will provide an early warning for DKA onset, resulting in improved patient health and the avoidance of a costly hospital admission. There is further evidence of a correlation between the changes in breath acetone
and blood glucose in Type 1 diabetics which could lead to adjunct and non-invasive
technology for blood glucose measurements [3,4,5].
OMD has produced a prototype to detect breath acetone and will now develop the sampling interfaces and optimised protocols to bring this device to the standard required of a point-ofcare and home-use system.
Lead Participant | Project Cost | Grant Offer |
|---|---|---|
| OXFORD MEDICAL DIAGNOSTICS LIMITED | £527,979 | £ 237,591 |
Participant |
||
| THE TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY BOARD | ||
| CVR LIMITED |
People |
ORCID iD |
| Rob Peverall (Project Manager) |