Light Test for Diabetes
Doctors can now diagnose diabetes simply by shining a light on a patient’s arm. A device called ‘The Scout’ detects the early signs of the disease in 6 seconds by spotting chemical markers in the skin.
It has been shown to be more accurate than the exiting technique, which involves the patient fasting
for 12 hours and having blood taken to test glucose levels. The samples are then sent to a lab and results can take several days.
The new test is able to detect 20% more patients with type 2 diabetes – the kind mostly linked to with obesity – than the fasting test, which often has to be repeated. Diabetes is a condition where the pancreas has stopped producing insulin or its output has severely dropped. Unless it is diagnosed early, it can case irreversible damage to the kidneys, eyes, nerves, heart and arteries.
Source: BBC Health
www.bbc.co.uk/health
Date published: 20 June 2006
