People With Diabetes May One Day Be Monitoring Glucose With an Earring

For millions of diabetics, a life without needles or the need to check blood sugar levels throughout the day would be a beacon of freedom unimagined. A project called Continuity might one day break that bondage.

A continuous glucose monitoring and delivery system, Continuity just became a finalist for the international Dyson Award, which uncovers the most exciting designs from recent engineering students that solve a specific problem.

Developed by Frederique Sunstrum, a PhD honors student in industrial design at the University of New South Wales, Continuity’s innovation is all about the seamless connectivity between its many functions. She combined three separate technologies: a wearable chrome “earring” glucose sensor with vibration alert; wireless connectivity that allows data to be sent to cell phones and to a doctor; and an insulin-mist pump, much like an inhaler.

Once this system were to go into production and become available, diabetics wouldn’t have to worry about their blood glucose, or pause their activities to check levels. It uses a continuous glucose monitoring technology (being developed by GlucoWise) that would allow the user to continue with their daily activities and be notified about fluctuations—even during sleep. If levels varied enough to warrant an alert, the earring would vibrate, getting the wearer’s attention, and also send an alert to the app and wake up the wearer that way, too.

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