A breath testing device under development in the UK may offer diabetics a less-invasive way to monitor their daily glucose levels. Replacing needle pricks with the simplicity of a breathalyzer is also expected to improve patient compliance.

Replacing needle pricks with a breathalyzer may improve patient compliance. The research launched by Applied Nanodetectors Ltd and the Centre for Process Innovation seeks to integrate low-cost printed glucose sensors into a breathalyzer to measure volatile organic compound levels exhaled in human breath.

The ability to print glucose sensors provides the opportunity to mass produce the sensors at a low cost per unit. The collaboration is part of a recent nine-month Innovate UK project titled “Plasense,” completed in December 2015, which developed a low-cost and scalable printed sensor technology on flexible plastic substrates. Further development work will look at upscaling the sensor and integration into a point-of-care diagnostic device.