Painless tests

Two tiny devices recently developed by researchers at the US National Nuclear Security Administration's Sandia National Laboratories could mean the elimination of blood drawing by diabetes patients to test glucose levels or by medical personnel to determine if someone is having a heart attack. Test results would be instantaneous.

The two arrays of micron-sized needles operate similarly by penetrating painlessly into the skin. Arranged in varying numbers on a small patch, the needles can measure molecules inside the body, eliminating the need to withdraw blood from a patient.

One device is ElectroNeedles, micron-sized electrodes capable of measuring molecules such as glucose that can donate or accept electrons (redox behaviour). The other is µPosts, micron-sized posts that have the potential of painlessly measuring proteins and other macromolecules, including protein markers released during a heart attack, using optical measurements. The platforms complement each other and together create a diagnostic suite capable of detecting many important biological markers.