If you don’t know a diabetic, or if you’re not one yourself, you might not know one of the most miserable day-to-day parts of the experience is the finger stick. Multiple times a day, you prick your finger with a needle, dab a strip on it, and feed that strip to a meter that tells you what your blood sugar is. It’s not the worst thing about diabetes, but it’s annoying and unpleasant… and Google wants to make it a lot easier.
In a patent released today, the company features a new method of conducting blood tests. Basically, instead of sticking you with a needle, it fires a micro-particle into your skin. Once blood wells up, it sucks in the drop using a negative pressure barrel, and does its thing. In theory this whole device could even be contained in a wrist-mounted item, so you wouldn’t even have to put something out and tap your finger to it, or even remember to test your glucose.
It’s just a patent; Google isn’t currently talking about plans to bring this device to market. But it’s worth noting that testing glucose is on Google’s mind; it also recently patented glucose testing contact lenses, for example, and it appears to be focused on creating health tech that lets people invisibly, and comfortably, monitor themselves. Considering some of the other stunts they get up to, at least this is something everyone can get behind.
(Via The Verge)