Kno- U (Cell phone based sensor)

Votes: 7
Views: 4511
Medical

Diabetes one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity, takes an enormous toll both on the individual and society. Unfortunately, the current method for blood glucose measurement requires an invasive test. Over the long-term, the requirement that the diabetic must prick their finger multiple times a day for a blood sample leads to less than ideal measurement frequency and, as a result, out of range blood glucose levels. Clearly, there is a significant economic benefit to be gained from an easy to use, non invasive glucose measurement system so that it helps to avoid the painful blood removing procedure and is the need of hour for the patients.

All cells need a continuous supply of oxygen for survival. The body gets oxygen from the air we breathe in and blood delivers it to all cells. Oxygen saturation is a measure of oxygen carried to its maximum capacity. Low oxygen saturation levels are indicators of poor oxygenation of tissues leading sickness and fatigue symptoms. Continuously monitoring the saturation of haemoglobin with oxygen provides a measure of cardio-respiratory function.

We claim to develop a hand held instrument to measure non-invasive blood glucose concentration, blood oxygen level, haemoglobin content. We propose to measure the concentration of glucose as a set of interdependent and correlated metabolic variables at the person’s finger tip. The variables in the model are: heat generated by oxidation of glucose, haemoglobin concentration, oxyhaemoglobin concentration and blood flow rate.

The non-invasive blood sugar monitoring device which we have proposed relates physiological indices of metabolism with blood glucose concentration. Much of the energy needed by the cells is provided by glucose oxidation. Thus the thermal energy generated by metabolic reactions in the human body indicates a balance between capillary sugar levels and local oxygen supply. Consequently, it is possible to determine the blood sugar level from the thermal energy generated by the metabolic reactions, together with other parameters, such as the oxygen saturation levels of haemoglobin and the blood flow rate. The meter that we propose to develop uses sensors to measure various temperatures and light characteristics in the fingertip.

This method was derived from the observation that the homeostatic circadian rhythm of the human body is dependent on the interrelationship between metabolic heat, local oxygen supply, and glucose concentration and is based on the following conceptual equation:

[GLU] = F(heat generated, blood flow rate, Hb, HbO2)

The variables in this model consist of heat generated, Glucose and haemoglobin concentration, oxyhaemoglobin (HbO2) concentration, and blood flow rate.This device uses both thermal and optical sensors to measure these values simultaneously in an individual and, through statistical manipulations, quantitatively derives the concentration of blood glucose.

Integrating this non invasive sensor with the cellular phones using optical fibers technology aid the people to have knowledge of their body conditions with the help of their own mobile phones as well allow the doctor’s to have a regular check on the patient’s daily glucose and other levels via SMS or MMS.

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  • ABOUT THE ENTRANT

  • Name:
    Muthukumaran Venkatachalapathy
  • Type of entry:
    individual
  • Profession:
    Student
  • Number of times previously entering contest:
    never
  • Muthukumaran's favorite design and analysis tools:
    CHIMERA,PHOTOSHOP and MATLAB
  • For managing CAD data Muthukumaran's company uses:
    SolidWorks PDMWorks Enterprise
  • Muthukumaran's hobbies and activities:
    Callligraphy,Music
  • Muthukumaran is inspired by:
    Love and passion to do something good for the needy and the diseased.
  • Patent status:
    none