Scientists develop pain-free blood sugar test for diabetics

Australian researchers hope low-cost saliva test will replace current needle-based test for diabetes sufferers.

Australian scientists say they have developed pain-free blood sugar testing for diabetics, a non-invasive strip that checks glucose levels via saliva. For diabetics, managing their blood sugar levels typically means pricking their fingers multiple times a day with a lancet and then placing a drop of blood on a testing strip. Understandably, some diabetes sufferers avoid the painful process by minimising their tests. However, this latest test works by embedding an enzyme that detects glucose into a transistor that can then transmit the presence of glucose, according to Paul Dastoor, professor of physics at the University of Newcastle in Australia, who led the team that created it.