Proposal Summary

Around 8.6% of the western population suffers from type 1 or 2 diabetes and rates are expected to rise due to rapid changes in diet habits. To stabilize their daily condition and allow normal life, diabetic patients must constantly monitor their blood glucose level (BGL) and inject themselves with insulin several times a day. Failure to regulate their blood glucose concentrations and fluctuations in glucose blood level over a long period may be critical and lead to severe secondary complications, such as myocardial infarction, stroke, peripheral vascular disease, kidney diseases, diseases of the nervous system, and retinopathy leading to blindness. All attempts to develop extra-body devices have failed so far for many reasons.

The main goal of this project is to provide the medical caregivers with an IST tool that is capable to monitor in real-time the glucose levels of this community. Hence, micro sensors implanted under the skin measuring BGL on a continuous basis seem to be the most suitable solution.

The main objective is to research and develop a novel implantable long-term nano-sensor for continuous BGL monitoring. The nano-sensor will be linked to the wireless device platform of the ICT system and the data will be automatically collected, stored and processed. The novelty of P-CEZANNE lies within the nano-sensor containing living cells or proteins, compact capsule with optics and microelectronics that measures continuously to provide physicians with online medical data.

The processed data will also be used for automatic regulating of the glucose level by linking it to an insulin pump that accurately releases insulin into the body in response to the fluctuations of glucose concentrations. Furthermore, the system design may be applicable to other diseases related to monitoring other medical parameters by changing the biological substrate in the sensor. Such technology will provide better means for monitoring and treating people with diabetes.