SYSMEX AND TOSHIBA ANNOUNCE DEVELOPMENT OF MINIMAL-INVASIVE
BLOOD GLUCOSE SELF-MEASURMENT TECHNOLOGY THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE
BLOOD SAMPLING
- Sysmex and Toshiba combine technologies in joint development
effort - More Info
Sysmex Corporation (HQ: Kobe, Japan; president: Hisashi Ietsugu)
and Toshiba Corporation (HQ: Tokyo; president: Tadashi Okamura)
today announced the joint development of technology for micro-invasive
self-measurement of blood sugar levels. This technology newly
developed by combining Sysmex's micro-invasive tissue fluid extraction
technology with Toshiba's optical sensing technology allows glucose
levels to be measured using interstitial fluids instead of the
blood samples currently required by conventional techniques.
Eliminating the need to puncture a fingertip to obtain a blood
sample will contribute to improved quality of life for diabetes
patients. Development of the technology for practical use is
currently underway from this year, aiming at commercialization
in 2005.
So-called "lifestyle-related diseases"-that is,
those caused by poor dietary habits, insufficient exercise,
excessive
stress and other aspects of modern life-have been increasing
annually. Among these, the number of people suffering from
diabetes worldwide had climbed to approximately 170 million
as of 2000,
with projections suggesting further increases to as many
as 370 million by 2030. The market associated with the
blood glucose
testing currently amounts to approximately 400 billion,
or about 16% of the overall diagnostics market, and average
annual growth
of 10% or more is expected in the years ahead.
Diabetes is a disease typically showing few subjective symptoms,
but if left untreated it can easily lead to any or all of three
major types of complications, including neurological disorders,
retinopathy (affecting the retinas of the eyes), and nephropathy
(causing reduced kidney function). In treating diabetes, it is
necessary to control the level of blood glucose in order to prevent
the occurrence and/or progression of these conditions. Among
the ways to control blood glucose, some of the most important
include dietary treatment, physical exercise, and medicines,
but to ensure the effectiveness of these approaches it is important
to monitor blood glucose levels regularly and constantly.
The minimal-invasive blood glucose self-measurement technology
developed jointly by Sysmex and Toshiba measures the amount of
glucose in interstitial fluids rather than in blood samples,
resulting in a method that improves the quality of life by avoiding
the need for painful blood sampling. Sysmex handled development
of technology for painless and stable extraction of interstitial
fluid samples, while Toshiba was responsible for developing the
biosensor chips and detection unit hardware for precisely measuring
the minute amounts of glucose contained in the samples.
Development of the technology for practical use is currently
underway from this year, aiming at commercialization in 2005.
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