Investigations into the Creation of a Strip Test capable of monitoring Glucose concentration using Tears

ABSTRACT

Background: To create a strip test to monitor blood sugar levels in diabetics using tears. For most diabetics, the current available methods for testing blood glucose are either invasive, inconvenient or both. A test such as glucose tear strip would improve patient compliance and disease control. Methods: 50 diabetic and 50 non-diabetic subjects, participated in this study. A sample of tears was collected from each subject's right eye using a glass microcapillary tube. Following tear collection, the blood glucose level of each subject was tested and recorded. At the end of sample collection 100 samples of tears were tested for glucose concentration. The results were examined to determine the correlation of glucose in tears to that in blood. Results: Based on this study conducted, the average TG concentration in non-diabetics was found to be 1.89 0.54 mg/dL and in diabetics, 3.10 0.55 mg/dL, whilst the PPBG concentration in non-diabetics and diabetics was found to be 118.60 4.67 mg/dL and 233.98 16.21 mg/dL respectively. Conclusion: There was a significant difference in between the glucose concentration in tears and the glucose concentration in blood. There was a weak correlation between the two variables. The development of a non-invasive, convenient and patient-friendly method of monitoring glucose concentration may not be possible but with advancements in technology, a strips sensitive to low concentrations of glucose present in tears can be developed.