New device could replace need for diabetes pin prick testing
The University of Sydney is working collaboratively with AusMed Global and the Australian Trade and Investment Commission.
Monitoring听blood levels with the prick of a finger could be replaced with just a breath in a matter of years, thanks to a听ketone听monitoring device that will soon be taken from the lab to the clinic for trials.
Working collaboratively with AusMed Global and the Australian Trade and Investment Commission, a team of researchers from the University of Sydney听and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital recently unveiled the听breath听ketone analyser听at听the Hong Kong Trade Development Council鈥檚 International Medical and Healthcare Fair.
Following the fair, industrial partner AusMed Global announced听it would be officially moving its operations to Hong Kong Science Park, a precinct of high-technology enterprises that will fast-track the device鈥檚 development.
The device is being developed to allow people living with type 1 diabetes to better manage and detect incidences of ketoacidosis, a life-threatening medical emergency that occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin, causing the liver to produce high levels of ketones that damage the surrounding organs.
Leading a multidisciplinary group of health and engineering experts from the University of Sydney and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, researcher believes the device will lead to a more accurate detection of ketoacidosis, in turn leading to a more effective management of the disease.
鈥淭he breath ketone analyser will be a less invasive and far more accurate way for people with diabetes to monitor their health, by measuring blood ketone levels in the breath,鈥� said Professor Xiaoke Yi from the School of .
鈥淭he process will be as simple as roadside breath testing 鈥� just by measuring the concentration of acetone in a patient鈥檚 breath, blood ketone levels can be calculated.
鈥淭he device has been calibrated to a high sensitivity and is based on an innovative sensing technique that is not affected by alcohol or other gasses,鈥� she explained.
Professor Xiaoke Yi says the breath ketone analyser will be a less invasive but far more accurate way for people with diabetes to monitor for ketoacidosis.
听
Professor听 of the University of Sydney and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital said the Hong Kong presentation highlighted the potential value of breath ketone monitoring and that it can become the most common method of monitoring for ketones.听
鈥淢onitoring for ketones is important in people with diabetes when they are sick and at risk of developing diabetic ketoacidosis, the latter of听which requires emergency treatment and can be life threatening,鈥� said Professor Twigg, Kellion听Professor in Endocrinology, Stan Clark Chair in Diabetes at the University鈥檚 Charles Perkins Centre and Head of Department of Endocrinology at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
鈥淟ooking at current testing methods - blood testing is invasive and relatively expensive. Getting real time results from urine testing can be problematic. In contrast, this new device uses a person鈥檚 breath to measure ketone levels and is not invasive, and promises to be clinically accurate and less financially burdensome.
鈥淏reath ketone monitoring potentially offers a safe, reliable and on-demand way of monitoring ketones in the body using portable technology. In collaboration with AusMed Global, the interdisciplinary听University of Sydney听team is planning on making this exciting technology an affordable reality for people with diabetes.鈥�
The device will also have the potential to monitor and assist several other diseases such as liver disease, epilepsy, and Alzheimer鈥檚 Disease.
Attending the International Medical and Healthcare Fair alongside the University team and听AusMed听Global, the New South Wales Trade and Investment Commissioner for South China and Hong Kong, Murray Davis said the project represents a new model for the innovation sector.
鈥淚t shows how an Australian innovation can access Hong Kong capital and management expertise as well as global manufacturing supply chains to bring new products to market and contribute to growth of the New South Wales knowledge economy,鈥� he said.
Christine Yip, CEO of AusMed Global believes the three-tiered collaboration and the recent Hong Kong integration will fast-track the device鈥檚 commercial availability.
鈥淎usMed Global is excited to partner with the University of Sydney in bringing this genuine, non-invasive ketone measurement innovation from the laboratory to the market,鈥� she said.
鈥淲e look forward to providing a pain free ketone monitoring experience to those suffering from debilitating diseases and life limiting illness in the near future.鈥�
Diabetes in Australia
According to Diabetes Australia, there are over 1.7 million Australians living with diabetes, with approximately 10 percent living with type 1 of the disease.
Diabetic ketoacidosis is a life-threatening condition that results in over seven-thousand听hospitalisations each year in Australia. In 2014, the estimated cost of diabetic ketoacidosis in NSW was $8.7million.
Funding Disclosure
The University of Sydney has received funding from exclusive licensee, AusMed Global Ltd, who are working to commercialise the ketone breath analyzer. The device is the result of a multidisciplinary research project from the University of Sydney鈥檚 Faculty of Engineering, the University of Sydney Nano Institute and听the Charles Perkins Centre.